Starship Troopers: Sigma-09
by Gundam-Knight-Chris
Summary: During the Fort Casey Incident, the troopers of A-01 and K-12 meet one of the members of the most deadliest squads in the Mobile Infantry. Now, after the Bug Invasion with the John A. Warden, surviving members of the A-01 and K-12 team along with the entire squad of S-09 have been given a mission to stop a bug invasion on another world... filled with talking animal people.
1. Chapter 1

**What up, homies! GKC here and now I'm making a new story from my favorite series, Starship Troopers. I do not own (except my OC) any Starship Trooper or Star Fox material; all rights go to their respective owners.**

 **Now let's get this party started... BEGIN!**

* * *

 _ **Starship Troopers: Sigma-09**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Fort Casey Incident! The Archangel of Death**

 **March 8, 2305; Fort Casey-Inbound Dropship [Carrying A-01 squad from Alesia]**

Lieutenant Daugherty, the squad leader of Alpha Zero One and veteran of the First Bug War, turned to his troopers and began to give them the mission briefing.

"Alright, troopers; we just received word from the Fort Casey base about a little pest control currently engaging with MI units stationed aboard. We've also received word that a member of Sigma squad had been posted there as an advisor." Daugherty explained to his troops.

Whispers about Sigma seemed to give the lieutenant's men an expressed feeling of both excitement and fear until one of the female troopers, Ice Blonde, raised her hand to speak.

"Permission to speak, sir!" Ice Blonde asked her C.O.

The lieutenant turned his gaze to the female trooper. "Granted."

"I heard that the troopers from Sigma Zero Nine were men that came straight from hell and that just one of them eliminated an entire bug hive on their own without backup." Ice Blonde rumored.

The squad looked at each other with questioned looks behind their helmets, but another trooper nicknamed Mech joined the fray.

"I heard one of those guys blew the fuck out of a Brain Bug with just a tiny piece of explosives then ate the damn thing." The demolitions expert remarked.

Daugherty had enough mindless chit-chat and stomped his armored boot on the ground, gaining his squad's attention. "As I was saying… our mission is to rescue the survivors of Fort Casey then take out the base and the Bugs. Are we clear!?" The lieutenant shouted.

The squad all said in unison. "Loud and clear, sir!"

The dropship entered through the base's opened hanger doors and skidded across the metal floor's surface as the ship's troop doors opened, releasing the A-01 troopers into the hanger.

The squad formed a line next to each other as they pointed the barrels of their Morita Mk. 1 assault rifles at the charging horde of Warrior Bugs and pulled the trigger on their guns.

Bullets rained from their chambers, green blood splattered the walls, roars and screeches from both sides filled the air (or space if you think about it) as the last bug in the hanger fell lifeless.

"A-Team reload, NOW!" Daugherty shouts to the troopers; as if synchronized, the squad reloaded their weapons and awaited further orders from their C.O.

Further gunfire roared ahead of the team's position; with a gesture of his hand, Daugherty and the rest of A-01 moved forward and met up with two survivors of the base's MI squad, Kilo One Two.

The lieutenant comes behind one of the survivors and asks. "Status report, trooper!"

The trooper stopped firing his rifle and turned to the squad leader. "Pretty bad, sir! Most of our men got stuck at the other side of this corridor."

"Then let's get them out of there! Mech! We're done here. Prep to blow." Daugherty barked at the demolitions expert.

The trooper nodded. "Sir!" He carried a case, filled with high-leveled explosives, over to a section of the hanger along with another trooper named Henderson.

The lieutenant radioed to his troopers. "Holy Man and Chow, on the cover. Biggers and Crysoch, hold position. The rest of you, follow me. We're on a rescue mission, people!"

Before he could lead his men, Daugherty received a set of pings from his helmet radio. The messenger was from the captain aboard the A-01 Team's starship, the Alesia.

"Lieutenant Daugherty, what is your status?" The captain asked the veteran.

"Too many bugs." Daugherty responded. "No way to take back Fort Casey." The CO fired his rifle at another Warrior that was getting a bit too close as the bug clattered to the ground dead. "We'll hold until the John A. Warden evacuates."

"Any word on the advisor from Sigma 09?" The captain asked.

"No, ma'am, we haven't spotted them yet, but we'll find them soon enough if they're still alive." Daugherty answered.

"Alesia will stand by for immediate evac. Keep me posted." The captain responded.

"Roger that." Daugherty replied before he tilted his head back a bit to look behind him. "Mech, what's your ETR?"

"Almost there, sir." Mech said as he placed an explosive on the wall as the timer began to go down. "Done. Let's go!" He shouted as he grabbed his explosive case and followed after his CO.

A bug was riddled with armor-piercing bullets, causing it to collapse dead until another Warrior bypassed its fallen kin to attack another trooper. The trooper fired his rifle at the Warrior while backing away but he was unable to dodge the sharp blade-like arm that pierced straight through his abdomen. Hanging on the bug's arm, the trooper kept shooting his gun before a teammate's bullet pierced through the arm that had injured their comrade causing the arm to separate and the trooper to collapse on his back with a gaping hole in his stomach as the soldier's comrades riddled his attacker with bullets.

When the team killed yet another bug, Daugherty stopped momentarily to look back. "Charleston's down! Medic!" He called out.

"I'm on it!" The A-01 team's medic, Shock Jock said as he ran towards the down trooper with a trauma kit.

While Shock Jock was dealing with the injured trooper, the other troopers of A-01 gave him covering fire to prevent the bugs from attacking their medic.

* * *

At another part of the docking bay, an officer of the Federation was on his communicator while four Mobile Infantry guards followed him. "Have you finished loading the crates?" The officer asked only to frown as he stated. "No, that is your priority."

When the officer finished talking over the line, a woman wearing a Federation captain's uniform was walking towards the officer with an angry look on her face. The officer had a small smirk on his face at seeing the woman's expression.

"What the hell is this about, Carl?" The woman demanded in an angry tone.

"Wonderful to see you again, Carmen." The officer named Carl said to her in a polite tone.

"You commandeered my damn ship." Carmen said angrily as she stopped in front of Carl.

"Borrowing it. I'll give it back." Carl said, trying to reassure Carmen.

"You're never gonna take the John A. Warden from me." Carmen threatened.

"Guards, I believe Captain Ibanez needs an escort to the Alesia." Carl ordered his guards, who went over to Carmen as one grabbed her arm before she shrugged it away.

"What do you want with my ship, Carl?" Carmen questioned the officer while glaring at him.

Carl merely clicked his tongue a few times in amusement before answering. "Carmen, that's classified. But I can tell you this: This mission… Oh, this mission will turn the tide."

"You always were such an asshole." Carmen stated as her glare intensified.

"And I was always so fond of you as well, Carmen." Carl said as if he wasn't affected by Carmen's insults. "See you on Terra."

Carl turned to walk away only to stop momentarily as he smiled at Carmen. "Friends always, right?" With that said, Carl turned and walked to the shuttle that had docked with one of the guards following him while the other two escort Carmen to the Alesia.

* * *

Back with the A-01 troopers, the team continued firing their Moritas at the enemy bugs before the last Warrior bug collapsed on the ground, dead.

"A-Team, reload!" Daugherty ordered as the troopers all reloaded their rifles.

"This is A-Team leader to Fort Casey." Daugherty radioed. "Evacs, come in!"

"About goddamn time." A surviving trooper answered over the radio.

"It's a little crowded out here. Exit now, Dock B." Daugherty told the trooper.

"On our way." The trooper said.

"Show some hustle. It's quiet now, but that ain't gonna last." Daugherty said before cutting the radio as he shouted to his team. "Evacs coming up! Keep your eyes open and your heads down! I don't want to lose anyone to friendly fire."

Daugherty ran down the hallway when he saw four troopers of the K-12 unit walking towards them with one being carried by another.

"Who's in charge?" Daugherty asked the troopers.

"Acting Commander, sir." The lead K-12 trooper said with a salute. "Major Henry Varro has been relieved of duty."

"Relieved? What the hell happened?" Daugherty questioned them.

The trooper holding his injured comrade answered. "This was a suicide mission from the get-go. Fucking headcase!"

The lead K-12 trooper looked at his comrade. "Shut your mouth, Ratzass. You wanna be busted like Hero?" He scolded.

"Do you know where the member of Sigma 09 is located?" Daugherty asked them.

"Archangel? Last we saw him; he was keeping the bugs off our backs while we made our escape. Don't know what happened to him after that." Ratzass answered.

"Archangel?" Daugherty wondered aloud.

"He's the scariest motherfucker you will ever meet. When we were escaping, we saw him gut a bug with only his hands. That was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen in my life." The trooper being carried by Ratzass said.

"Okay…" Daugherty merely said before leading the K-12 survivors back to the A-01 team.

"We're outta here. Let's get back to the ship." Daugherty ordered before he glanced at his demolitions expert. "Mech, how's it coming with that charge?"

"Armed and dangerous." Mech answered his CO.

The troopers walked back to the hanger to return to the dropship before they heard the sound of engines igniting.

The troopers notice outside that the John A. Warden began to take off.

"You have to be kidding me." The lead K-12 trooper muttered.

"Thanks for waiting, jackass!" Ratzass shouted in disdain.

"Command, if there are new orders, let me know, goddamn it!" Daugherty shouted in his communicator in annoyance. "Are we gonna escort the John A. Warden or not?"

Before he could get an answer, Daugherty heard the familiar screeching of warriors. "Shit!" Soon enough, Warriors began to arrive from two hallways causing the troopers to open fire on the bugs.

Before the team knew it, bugs were coming from the entrance of the dock.

"Behind us!" An A-01 trooper shouted in shock.

"Sir, this is Biggers! Can't hold anymore! We're…" Biggers was cut off when a Warrior knocked him down and trampled on his body with its sharp legs, killing the trooper.

"Fuck! Sons of bitches!" Crysoch shouted as he fired at a Warrior but wasn't able to dodge the sharp arm that pierced through his side, killing him.

Another A-01 trooper tried to help his comrades but was snatched up in a Warrior's jaws, causing him to die from the attack.

Witnessing his men die, Daugherty growled before he radioed the Alesia. "Captain Jonah, this is A-Team. Landing ship destroyed. Boarding directly now."

"Roger that. As soon as you're aboard, Alesia will depart." Captain Jonah responded.

"Lance formation! Fall back to the Alesia!" Daugherty ordered as the troopers began moving back. When the team crossed the doors, they were sealed shut, giving the troopers a much needed breather.

Before anyone knew it, Warriors broke in from the ceiling causing the troopers to open fire once again.

While they were fighting the enemy, an unsuspecting Warrior came in through a broken window next to an A-01 trooper and before he could retaliate, the Warrior snapped him up in its jaws causing the man to scream in terror. With a powerful bite, the trooper was snapped in half, ending his life.

Another trooper was backing away from a Warrior before it stabbed him in the chest, killing him.

Daugherty got in front of his team. "Hold formation! Hold formation!" He ordered as he noticed some of the troopers were breaking formation.

One of the K-12 survivors was firing his rifle before he noticed a Warrior snap its jaws on his left arm, injuring him and sending him to the floor, but the trooper used his functioning right arm to fire at the bug, killing his attacker.

When he finished killing the bug, he looked at the mangled mess that was his left arm. "My arm! My goddamn arm!" He cried in distress.

Mech picked up the injured trooper and shouted to Shock Jock. "Medic!"

The lead K-12 trooper was backing away as he noticed a Warrior charging right at him but started lowering his rifle when he noticed he wouldn't kill it in time before it reached him. But as the bug got close, a bullet knocked the bug on its side, killing it. The trooper looked to his right to notice a female A-01 trooper with a sniper rifle.

The female trooper muttered. "424" She fired again. "425" She fired once more. "426"

The female trooper however was unaware that a Warrior bug was coming up behind her. When she noticed it, her eyes grew wide in shock but before the bug could kill her, a black-red blur tackled it to the ground and the sound of a Morita Mk. 1 filled the emptiness of space as the bug died with a final screech.

When the trooper looked at the dead carcass of the bug, she noticed a trooper in black power armor with red trimmings and details. On his forehead was a pair of white angel wings while on his shoulder guards was the symbols S-09 emblazoned in red and on his nameplate was the name Archangel. In his hands was a Morita Mk. 1 with a grenade launcher attachment.

The sniper looked at the mysterious trooper for a moment before saying, "Thanks for the help."

Archangel merely nodded as he aimed his Morita all around him in a show that he's got her back.

"Return to the ship!" Daugherty ordered as he and the surviving troopers moved back. When a bug got close to the troopers, a sniper bullet ended it.

The female trooper was looking through the scope of her sniper rifle as she fired another shot, killing another bug. "428" She fired again. "429" Another bullet pierced a bug's nerve stem. "30" The sniper fired again. "431" Before she could continue firing, she heard the voice of her CO.

"Trig! Move your goddamn ass! We're taking off!" Daugherty shouted in her comm.

Trig looked back at Archangel, who nodded as they both noticed the bugs were converging on their position a few yards away.

Trig holstered her sniper rifle and began to run with Archangel following close behind. The Alesia began to take off as the two noticed their fellow troopers encouraging them to make it.

"Come on!" An A-01 trooper shouted.

"Holy shit, he's still alive!" Ratzass said in disbelief.

Archangel took a glance back and noticed the bugs were getting closer so he quickly holstered his rifle, picked up Trig in a bridal carry, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the trooper as the black-red trooper began to run faster than he ever did before.

The troopers on the Alesia gave the two covering fire as Archangel neared the Alesia.

"Jump!" Daugherty shouted as Archangel was near the edge before he quickly jumped with Trig in his arms but the Alesia was too far away for the two to make it so putting Trig under his left arm, Archangel reached out with his right. When he was near one of the surviving K-12 members holding his hand out to them, he grasped the trooper's hand, pulling him and Trig inside as the doors closed behind them.

Archangel released Trig from his grip as the female trooper's helmet retracted, revealing a beautiful woman who had Caucasian characteristics, black hair, and brown eyes. "Thanks." Trig said in appreciation.

The lead K-12 trooper named Bugspray also had his helmet retracted, revealing a man in his late twenties with brown hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. "Anytime," He said with a grin.

Trig glanced at Archangel, who was looking at her with his helmet still on. "Thanks for the save back there." She said.

Archangel merely nodded before leaning back on the door with his arms crossed and head down.

Trig was confused on why the black-red trooper hadn't said a word before Bugspray filled her in. "Don't take it personal, the guy only talks when he wants to. He's a good guy though and normally, he doesn't show much interest in a lot of female troopers, I guess you caught his interest." He said with a cheeky grin.

Trig merely shook her head in amusement as she looked at Archangel one last time before her friend, Ice Blonde, came to her. "Score?" Ice Blonde asked.

"430" Trig said with a small shrug. "Give or take."

The team looked outside when they noticed the ship rocking.

Outside, the Alesia was angling itself to leave the Fort Casey base with the engines pointed at the hanger, frying the bugs inside as the ship left the base.

Mech watched as they left Fort Casey while a young A-01 trooper looked out next to him before looking at him. "You gonna do it or what?" the trooper asked.

"Hit it, maestro." Daugherty said to the demolitions expert with a grin as the other troopers looked at him as well.

The African American held up three fingers and counted down. "3, 2, 1… Boom!" Mech said as he pumped his fist.

When Mech finished, an explosion engulfed the Fort Casey base, destroying it.

Inside the Alesia, the troopers cheered at the sight before Mech calms them down with a laugh. "Ah, come on, guys. This shit ain't over yet." He said with a proud grin. This caused the troopers to watch again.

Before anyone knew it, the explosion spread throughout the asteroid, completely destroying the large rock.

The troopers cheered again as Mech admired his handiwork with a chuckle. "Yeah, all right."

* * *

An hour later, the troopers were in the locker room beginning the process of removing their power armor before a trooper named Chase asked Ratzass. "So what the hell happened to you guys down there?"

"We were right on top of a motherfucking anthill. Varro saved our ass." Ratzass said as he began removing his armor leggings. "Then that ESP prick, Jenkins sent us on a death run. Straight into a goddamn hive. All of us would have died if Archangel hadn't come along. But you didn't hear that shit from me."

"Uh, I'm sorry, did you say something?" Chase said, catching on to what Ratzass meant.

"Attention!" Daugherty called, causing the troopers to stand up and salute their CO, who returned the gesture allowing them to lower their arms.

"You can all be proud of yourselves. We saved some lives and we killed some bugs." Daugherty told his troopers, who cheered before Daugherty said. "But we lost some good troopers today."

This caused everyone in the room to lower their heads in remembrance of their fallen teammates.

Daugherty raised his hand as if he was holding a glass. "Here's to the dead." He said.

The troopers mimicked the action. "And to the next man to die!" They all said in unison.

"Now let's get back to Terra. Then we can put some real glasses in these hands." Daugherty told them, causing each trooper to cheer in joy.

The moment was interrupted when the clanking of power armor boots rang in the locker room. The troopers turned to look at who it was and saw that it was the S-09 trooper, Archangel. Daugherty caught sight of the trooper before noticing the rank on his armor. "Officer on deck!"

The troopers stood at attention when Daugherty called out those words.

Ice Blonde was next to her CO and whispered. "What is it, LT?"

"Our new friend here… is a Commander." Daugherty whispered back as the troopers saluted.

"At ease!" Archangel said in a young, soft, and strong voice. The sound of the S-09 trooper's voice raised many flags in the A-01 and K-12 teams' minds. "I'm only a guest here so once we're back on Terra; I'll be out of your hairs."

"Uh, sir, if you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?" A female A-01 trooper asked with her hand lightly raised.

"That's classified." Archangel stated before his helmet retracted causing many of the troopers to gasp in shock.

When the helmet retracted, it revealed a young man about eighteen years old with pristine pale skin, a sharp face with a touch of feminine qualities, shoulder length raven black hair, and the oddest feature of them all was his crimson red eyes that had the same shade as blood.

"This guy's a kid, why's he even here?" A trooper asked.

"I don't mind, he's pretty cute." A female trooper said with a bit of a purr.

"Why the hell are his eyes red?" Mech muttered.

"They look pretty cool." A male trooper complimented.

"Commander Sir, forgive the comments, they've just never met someone so… young in the Mobile Infantry." Daugherty said as he casted a wayward glare at the troopers making the comments.

"It's fine, lieutenant, I'm used to them." Archangel stated before he noticed blood dripping from his arm. "Excuse me; I must get to medical to check my arm." He said before leaving the locker room.

When he left, Ice Blonde turned to Daugherty. "I didn't even notice he was injured."

"He must have gotten it before we came. Anyways, get yourselves cleaned up and something to eat, you've all earned it." The lieutenant said before leaving.

* * *

About a half hour later, Ratzass and Bugspray had finished getting off their power armor but Ratzass had removed the upper part of his bodysuit. When the two K-12 team members were about to leave, they both spotted Ice Blonde at her locker, half naked.

Ratzass whistled at the sight while Bugspray only shook his head.

"What's the matter? You never saw a flanker without her armor before?" Ice Blonde asked with a bit of a playful tone.

"Yeah, but they usually look like Ratzass." Bugspray stated while gesturing to his friend.

"Ratzass?" Ice Blonde asked with a look that said 'seriously?'

"That's what they call me." The K-12 trooper said.

"Because you don't give a rat's ass about anything," Bugspray stated with a smirk causing Ratzass to slightly glare at him.

"What a surprise." Ice Blonde said with a shake of her head as she took off the rest of her bodysuit.

"Hey…" Ratzass started with a grin. "You, uh, want me to show you to the shower? I could wash your back?" He suggested.

"You don't wanna wash my front?" Ice Blonde asked while closing her locker, showing the two her full nude body.

Ice Blonde started walking towards Ratzass with a slight sway in her hips that the K-12 trooper found hypnotic. When she got close, Ratzass backed up against the lockers as Ice Blonde continued on walking. Bugspray started laughing at Ratzass when he saw that he just got played and teased easily.

"Shut up!" Ratzass said to Bugspray as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, man, but I think she's got you beat for now." Bugspray said.

"At least I tried talking to a girl unlike Archangel!" Ratzass retorted.

"Point there" Bugspray said.

* * *

At the medical bay, Shock Jock was looking over the injured K-12 trooper's arm.

"Hey, man, don't write this up, okay?" The K-12 trooper asked in a pleading tone.

"This is a serious wound." Shock Jock stated as he continued checking the trooper's mangled arm.

The trooper looked to the side at the body bags from the corpses of the previous mission. "Could've been a lot worse," He said.

"I can't keep something like this off the record. I'm gonna have to take your arm, yeah?" Shock Jock stated.

"Fine. But, look… At least do what you can to make sure it doesn't get back to my folks." The trooper pleaded as he looked at the medic. "You can at least do that. Right, doc?"

Shock Jock listened to the trooper's pleas before grabbing a rotary buzz saw. Once he activated it, Shock Jock prepared to do the operation before the ship shook causing him to stumble for a bit but he retained his balance. What he didn't know was that his hand was shaking.

"Let's do this." Shock Jock said as he prepared to amputate.

"Um, why don't we wait until the shaking stops?" The trooper asked quickly.

"The ship will be fine." Shock Jock reassured the trooper.

"I'm not talking about the ship." The trooper said causing the medic to look at him.

The door opens as Shock Jock turned to see it was Archangel holding his arm as blood dripped from the injuries.

"What happened, sir?" The medic asked.

"Just a scratch, all I need is a dressing and that's it." Archangel stated as he sat on an empty cot.

"Yes, sir" Shock Jock said as he grabbed an automatic screwdriver and a dressing only for Archangel to hold his uninjured arm up.

"There's no need for that." Archangel said, gesturing to the screwdriver. The S-09 trooper pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet as the one on his injured arm opened.

Shock Jock was surprised for a bit but shook it off and continued by applying the dressing on Archangel's arm and wrapping it up. "It should heal up in a few hours, sir."

"Thank you." Archangel said before reconnecting his armor again then he stood up and left the medical room.

* * *

A few minutes later, Archangel was walking down a corridor looking along the room doors before finding the one he was assigned.

"E-057, guess this is my room until I return to my unit." He said before pressing the switch but growled in frustration when the door didn't open. "Fucking piece of-"

Archangel was cut off when the door behind him opened, revealing Trig in her sleeveless bodysuit as she walked over to the door and gave it a good kick causing the door to open.

"Thanks" Archangel said.

Trig looked at Archangel and gave him a warm smile. "Anytime…"

"No, really I appreciate…" Archangel was cut off when he saw that his room was filled with junk. "…it"

"I'll help you move some of this around." Trig offered.

"Thank you." Archangel said as he and Trig began moving canisters and crates out of the way. When it was clear, the S-09 trooper set his backpack down as he pressed a few commands on his gauntlet then his armor released hissing noises before clattering off of him.

"Mind if I use your com?" Archangel asked.

"I don't mind." Trig answered.

Archangel stood up and went to Trig's quarters, who followed after. When he received the answer about why he didn't have a bed, he sighed in irritation. "Dammit, they won't be able to get me a bed until tomorrow."

Trig looked around her room. "Well… you can sleep here until then."

"Thanks… uh?" Archangel wondered.

"It's Tia, Tia Durer but I mostly prefer Trig." Trig answered.

Archangel nodded. "My name is classified but… it's Chris, Chris Alder but I go by my codename Archangel."

"It's nice to meet you, sir." Trig said.

"Please, rank doesn't mean shit to me, call me Arc for short." Arc said as he winked at the young woman.

Trig slightly blushed before looking at the bed. "It's not very big."

"It's okay, I can take the floor." Arc stated as he set his things down.

"You can sleep on my bed with me; I'll just have to scoot over a bit." Trig said as she laid down on the bed then she felt Arc's thin muscular frame press against her back.

"Sorry, I'm not usually comfortable sleeping next to another person." Arc said with his back against her.

"It's fine; I was actually the same as well. You just sort of… reminded me of someone that I knew a long time ago." Trig said.

Arc gave her silence before saying, "I bet…"

"Say, Arc, why are you in this war? You look like you should still be in high school." Trig asked.

Although she couldn't see it, Trig felt that Arc's expression had turned solemn. "That's something… I don't want to talk about." He answered.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean-" Trig tried to apologize but Arc interrupted her. "It's alright, you didn't know. I don't really like to remember the past a lot." Arc said.

"So… why do you use that Triple X Sniper Rifle?" Arc asked.

"My old CO wanted me to use the regulation rifle…" Trig started before she gestured to the sniper rifle leaning against her bedpost. "Then he changed his mind when he saw how many kills I got with that thing."

Arc chuckled in amusement. "Sounds like you got off easy." He said with a grin.

Trig giggled a bit. "Yeah…"

Arc frowned. "There's a story about that gun, isn't there…" He said.

Trig nodded. "My parents made that rifle. There was an armory in my hometown. Everyone worked there. That is, until the bugs melted the place with a plasma bomb." She said as her shoulders trembled a bit. "Soldiers, civilians… families; everyone died." She turned over and looked at Arc with slight tears before she turned away. "I swore then that I'd kill just as many bugs and I do it with that gun." She gestured to the Triple X Sniper Rifle.

"That's why you count?" Arc wondered.

Trig was silent for a moment before she answered. "No, that's why it counts."

* * *

A few hours later, Carmen was in her temporary quarters taking a much needed shower before the recollection of her conversation with Carl as well as the fact her ship was taken, angered her as she punched the shower wall in anger.

"Goddamn you, Carl." She muttered before she heard the buzzer on her door causing her to leave the shower and wrap a towel around her nude form. The captain went over to the door. "Who is it?" She asked.

"Commander Archangel, Captain." Arc's voice said from the other side of the door. "Is this a bad time?"

Carmen shook her head in amusement. "Not at all, Commander…" She answered as she opened the door, revealing Arc in his bodysuit as he saluted Carmen. "At ease, kid, there's no need for that."

"Yes, ma'am," Arc said as he lowered his arm. "May I enter?"

Carmen sighed. "Let me get something on so I don't have to worry about castrating you for seeing my body." She stated.

"You're at least two decades older than me." Arc deadpanned.

Carmen gave him an incredulous look. "Fine, get your pasty ass in here."

"Whatever you say, ma'am." Arc said as he entered the room and turned away to give Carmen a sense of privacy.

Carmen took this as a sign for her to get her uniform on. A few minutes later, the older woman looked at the raven-haired trooper. "Alright, you can look now."

Arc turned back to look at Carmen. "I came to give you my report at Fort Casey, Captain Ibanez." He said in a professional tone.

Carmen raised an eyebrow at the S-09 trooper. "Didn't you give your report to Captain Jonah?"

"Begging your pardon, Captain, but last I checked I came to Fort Casey on the John A. Warden under your command. I only follow your orders until said otherwise." Arc said with his hands behind his back.

This surprised Carmen as she shook her head with a grin. "Then what do you have to report, Commander?"

"The attack on Fort Casey was bound to happen. Most likely that PSICOM knew about the Arachnid hive in the asteroid and neglected to tell the MI unit as well as the officers at Fort Casey. From my point of view, there was something Jenkins's was hiding; I have no other information on what it could be but all I know is that he sent the K-12 Squad down a Bug Hive and it nearly killed them all if I didn't intervene." Arc explained. "That concludes my report, Captain Ibanez."

Carmen was deep in thought about what Arc had said before she looked at the red-eyed trooper. "What's your personal intake on this?" She asked.

"Personally, Captain Ibanez… I think Jenkins took your ship for another reason entirely." Arc answered.

"Any ideas?" Carmen asked.

"None, Captain Ibanez." Arc answered.

"Hmm…" Carmen hummed in thought before the alarm began to ring. "Seems we have a situation."

"Lead on, Captain." Arc said as he stood out of the way, allowing Carmen to leave the room as the S-09 trooper followed her.

* * *

A few minutes later at a briefing room, the A-01 trooper, Chase, had a look of annoyance on his face. "Shit! I knew it! I just felt it! We aren't gonna see Terra any time soon." He complained.

"You pessimist?" Mech asked.

"Specialist, actually." Chase pointed out. "Well, almost. Five points short on the ESP test. If one more jack had been a diamond, I wouldn't be here with you dumbasses." He admitted.

Ice Blonde heard what he said and gave the younger member a look of disgust. "You son of a bitch. That's how you always know when I'm in the shower." She said as she stood up, towering over the frightened trooper. "So, can you tell what I'm thinking now?"

"Hell, even I know what you're thinking now." Mech muttered.

Ice Blonde leveled a glare at Chase. "You make me sick." She stated before she walked off angrily to a seat further from Chase, who slouched in his seat in embarrassment while his fellow troopers chuckled in amusement.

Daugherty shook his head at the display before he heard the door slide open as the K-12 trooper that had his arm injured walked in along with Shock Jock.

"What's up, Lieutenant Daugherty?" The K-12 trooper said with an incline of his head.

"I thought you were in medical." Daugherty questioned.

The K-12 trooper brought up his new prosthetic arm and gave it a few movements. "Wasn't as bad as it looked." He said as he went to find a seat.

The door in the back slides open as Arc and Trig, who the S-09 trooper went to get, came in. "Glad you two could make it." Daugherty said.

This caused the male troopers from both A-01 and K-12 to either cheer or whistle at the two which Arc and Trig sported bright blushes while some of the A-01 female troopers looked on in jealousy.

"That's not what we were doing, assholes!" Arc shouted at the male troopers.

"At ease." Said the voice of a man appearing on a vid-screen, who had dark brown hair, a brown eye, a small beard, a few scars on his left eye that was covered by an eye patch, and he wore a black officer's uniform of the Terran Federation with the rank of General on his shoulders. "I wanted to brief you all personally. First and foremost, because I know of the great sacrifices that both the crew of the Alesia as well as the defenders of Fort Casey have made and the great losses that you've suffered and second, I know you could all use some R&R about now. Believe me, I've been there myself. But unfortunately we have a situation."

There were murmurs as well as complaints or groans of disappointment from the gathered troopers before one A-01 trooper shouted, "What?"

"Stow it!" Daugherty ordered causing all of the troopers to keep quiet.

"The John A. Warden has gone silent. The Alesia is the only starship in the area of last contact. I've ordered your captain to divert course, find the Warden and investigate." The General explained. "Any questions?"

Ratzass took this moment to stand up. "Yeah. I think I speak for everyone from Fort Casey when I say this…" Before he could continue, he felt a tap on his leg.

"Shut the fuck up!" Bugspray whispered angrily.

"It's okay. Go on." The General said to the K-12 trooper while ushering Ratzass to continue.

"We're only going in if Hero takes point." Ratzass conditioned.

"Hero?" The General pondered in slight confusion.

"Major Henry Varro. Commander of Fort Casey, General Rico." Daugherty explained.

"Right." Rico said with a slight line. "Arrested by Doctor Carl Jenkins for insubordination at the battle of Fort Casey." He looked at the K-12 troopers for any sign of disagreement before he sighed. "Fine. If Major Varro chooses to participate in this mission, the Mobile Infantry will accept his service." Rico's expression then turned stern. "However, this will not in any way be prejudicial to his trial. Is that understood?"

"Understood, sir." Ratzass said with a salute before he sat back down.

"We'll probably lose communications as you cross the nebula. Godspeed, Alesia." Rico said to the troopers. "Dismissed."

The troopers stood up and began to leave while Daugherty told them. "Assemble in the staging area."

Before Carmen could leave, Rico spoke out to her. "A word, Captain Ibanez; you as well, Commander."

Carmen stopped as well as Arc, who was halfway through the door before he comes back in. "Why did you let him take my ship?" Carmen asked.

"Carmen, it's not your ship. It belongs to the Terran Federation." Rico pointed out.

"He has a point there, Captain." Arc agreed causing Carmen to lightly glare at him.

"General Rico, perhaps you recall, there was a certain young trooper who was with me when the Rodger Young went down." Carmen stated as she walked up to the screen. "I vowed that would never happen to a ship under my command."

Rico looked at Carmen for a moment before his regular military posture dropped into a more casual one. "This is not my choice. I mean, look. I don't care what you thought about Carl back when we knew him and I don't care what you think about him now." He said as he looked at Carmen pacing about. "He's Minister of Paranormal Warfare and High Command has authorized him to use the John A. Warden."

The moment Rico said that, Carmen stopped pacing. "Look, Carmen… This is a mission that's so classified, I don't even know what the hell is really…"

"And look how well it's going." Carmen retorted rather angrily.

"You know the John A. Warden like the back of your hand." Rico interrupted. "I need you to go aboard with the insertion team."

"I looked at the manifest. That ship didn't just go dark. Her signal was turned off." Carmen then angrily pointed at Rico. "And you know as well as I do, the only one who has the gall to run a Federation starship dark is Carl Jenkins." Carmen's expression then turned accusing. "And how do you know we're even close to my ship?"

Rico raised his hand to silence Carmen. "Before we lost contact, we analyzed some of the scattered signals. Calculating course and speed, we were able to get a good estimate of its location." Rico looked at Carmen then at Arc for a moment. "Now, it's not spot-on, but we can get you pretty damn close."

Carmen was silent for a moment before she looked at Rico. "Fine, I'll do it. But not to save Carl's sorry ass. I'll do it to take back my ship."

When Carmen turned to leave, Rico stopped her. "You just be careful. We need you back intact when this thing is over."

Carmen looked at the General and smiled at him. "Thank you, Johnny."

Rico's expression seemed like a mix of nervous and confidence. "Hey, Carmen, when this thing is over, maybe you and I can meet at Zim's and…" Before he could get an answer, Carmen had already left the room. "Yeah."

"Still gotta try harder than that, General." Arc said with an amused grin.

Rico's functioning eye twitched in annoyance. "I forgot how much of a little bastard you were, Commander."

"Cheer up, buddy, she'll come around eventually besides when I went to talk to her in her quarters, she still kept a photo of you during your younger years on her dresser." The S-09 trooper said with a grin.

"Really?" Rico asked hopefully.

Arc nodded before his expression turned serious. "There's something else, isn't there?"

"Correct, Commander, you see I'd like you to go with the insertion team as well. They might need you on this mission." Rico stated.

"I'll do it, General, and I'll do everything I can to keep Captain Ibanez safe." Arc said with a salute.

"Thank you and good luck, Commander." Rico said before he cut the line.

Arc lingered a few more seconds before he left the room as well, heading to his quarters to get his equipment.

* * *

A few minutes later, the troopers began to lock their power armor on while some checked a few functions in their helmets or looked at their knives.

While the K-12 team and Arc were getting their armor situated, Ratzass believed it to be the perfect time to say something. "Be too bad if a stray shot hit Jenkins." He said, adjusting his knee guard while the other troopers looked at him.

"Look, I know you're pissed, but don't even think shit like that." Bugspray said. "They threw Hero into the brig. You or me, Holy Man or Kharon, what do you think they do to grunts like us?" He continued slightly glaring at Ratzass. "They'd shove us out of a goddamn airlock."

"So I gotta watch my ass?" Ratzass asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, but if you're not gonna do that, at least watch mine." Bugspray said before the K-12 team and Arc noticed Trig walking by. She glanced at Arc for a moment and winked at him, eliciting a small blush on the teenager.

As Trig continued walking, the K-12 team watched Trig continue on while Ratzass looked on in annoyance.

He scoffed. "Oh, man! Fuck you!" He said to Arc before walking away as he muttered. "Can't believe I'm the only one not getting laid around here." When he walked away, Bugspray also stood up along with Arc as he left Holy Man and Kharon by themselves.

Before he could go and retrieve his rifle, Arc was suddenly grabbed by Trig and pulled to the side, away from everyone in sight. "Trig? What's the big idea?" He asked, mildly annoyed.

"Listen if I don't make it on this mission… I don't care what happens to my body but could you at least make sure my rifle gets back to my hometown?" Trig asked with a slight pleading look in her eyes.

Arc grasped Trig's shoulders firmly but gently. "Listen, you're not gonna die. Whenever I'm on a mission, the team I'm with regardless if it's my own unit or others, have never sustained any casualties. I will protect you and the rest of the team with my very life if necessary."

Trig felt touched by Arc's words while slightly blushing when she noticed how close his face was. "Uh… y-you can let go now."

Arc blinked before he stood up. "My bad…" He muttered with a blush of embarrassment as he walked off to get the rest of his equipment.

Trig looked at Arc's back for a few more seconds before she went off to another part of the locker room to get her own power armor on.

While the troopers prepared for their mission, they believed that it would be an easy mission… How wrong they would be once they board the John A. Warden.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **That's the first chapter, folks. I'm considering this to be part one in the Invasion Arc. Now, I know some of you have been waiting patiently for updates on my other stories and I know some of you are getting a bit impatient sometimes but please understand that I have to prepare for my future.**

 **Now, Sigma 09 is my own OC-generic Starship Trooper squad, composed of six troopers. If you want to put up an OC for it then I will need the following…**

* * *

 **[Example]**

 **Name:**

 **Call Sign (The name that you wish your OC to be called during missions):**

 **Age:**

 **Sex:**

 **Rank:**

 **Hair Color/Style:**

 **Eye Color:**

 **Appearance:**

 **Personality:**

 **Power Armor (The appearance, decals, and coloring):**

 **Weapon:**

 **History:**

 **[Example End]**

* * *

 **Well, that's it for this chapter and I'll continue to work on my other stories.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

**How's it going, everyone! This is GKC here, bringing you the next chapter in my Starship Troopers story. I've already gotten the OCs for Sigma 09 and I'm no longer accepting any other OC requests unless they are Star Fox ones. Oh, I almost forgot, I'm getting into the military soon so I won't be able to update or do my stories when I'm in basic training.**

 **Anyways, I'm still doing my other stories so don't worry.**

 **Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OC, Starship Troopers or Star Fox; all rights go to their respective owners.**

 **Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!**

* * *

 _ **Starship Troopers: Sigma 09**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: John A. Warden and the Trap**

* * *

 **March 9, 2305; Starship Alesia [inbound to the John A. Warden]**

On the bridge, a viewscreen of a Federation starship with the name 'John A. Warden' floated out in the darkness of space.

"John A. Warden, this is the Alesia. Please respond." A communications officer said over the com before the door opens as Carmen Ibanez walks in which caused the bridge crew to turn to her. "I've tried everything. Voice, radio flash… Even light code. Nothing." The officer told her.

"Keep trying, Lieutenant." Captain Jonah said as Carmen looked at the screen, showing her ship.

"Zoom in on the bridge." Carmen ordered. The communications officer obeyed as the screen zoomed in two times at the bridge of the ship.

"Maybe they can't hear us." Captain Jonah suggested.

"They'd have to know what our objective is…" Carmen stated, not believing her crew wouldn't hear as she pressed the communication line. "Bridge, this is your captain. Respond. Now! If you do not respond, we will board." Carmen was only greeted with silence as she turned to the Alesia's captain. "Board it. That's not my ship anymore."

Captain Jonah nodded in understanding as she then ordered the troopers to prepare to board the John A. Warden while the Alesia maneuvered to the docking hatch of the larger starship.

* * *

In the locker room, the troopers of A-01, K-12, and S-09 checked their gear and weapons for the upcoming mission.

Bugspray opened up the visor part of his helmet, making sure it was in working order.

Kharon pulled the pin of his Morita back while Chow loaded in a fresh magazine into his rifle.

Mech grabbed two grenades and handed one to Chase, who took it in gratitude.

Holy Man cleaned his knife on his armguard, marveling at the polished metal of his blade. He retracted his helmet and gave a silent prayer.

Shock Jock checked his own Morita Mk. 1 to see if it was in good condition.

Over at Ice Blonde's locker, she was looking at a picture of her and a young girl. She smiled at the picture while Ratzass came up behind and noticed the picture.

"Kids?" He asked. He didn't receive an answer but he knew that the girl in that picture was Ice's daughter. "Husband?"

That caused Ice to raise her head slightly. "Died on Planet 4976." Ice Blonde answered.

Deciding to lighten the mood, Ratzass had a small smug grin. "Hey, the way I figure it, the bugs got more reason to be scared than I do." During his boosting, he was unaware that Ice Blonde put the photo back in her locker and walked off. "I've killed hundreds of them. They killed zero of me." Looking back, he finally noticed Ice Blonde had walked off. "Oh man." He groaned lightly.

With the only S-09 trooper on the ship, Arc grabbed a few extra magazines and placed them in the hidden compartment on his back. He outfitted his Morita with high explosive ammo rounds to help pierce through a Warrior's exoskeleton.

As he finished checking his rifle, Arc looked around to make sure no one was looking before he pulled out a small locket from around his neck. When he opened it, he smiled when he saw a picture of a couple, a Japanese man who looked like a slightly older version of him and a beautiful European woman with long silver hair, red eyes, and pale skin.

Closing the locket, he looked at the back as it read ' _Stand up and walk forth to the future.'_

"I'll make you proud… mother… father…" Arc muttered as he placed his locket back inside his bodysuit as he noticed movement at the door.

There stood a Caucasian man with short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and the start of a beard on his face. He had a small scar under his left eye. He was outfitted in the K-12 team's digital camo power armor. On his nameplate was the word 'Hero'.

The troopers stopped and looked at the newcomer. The K-12 troopers saluted him along with the rest of A-01 and the lone S-09 trooper. Hero returned the salute.

When the salute ended, Varro walked into the center of the gathered troopers. "Okay, boys and girls. Looks like this is gonna be my last mission, so let's make it a good one. Our job is to retake the John A. Warden, rescue any and all survivors and exterminate any resistance we might find." Varro looked around the troopers. "You got that?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" The A-01 and K-12 troopers said as one.

"All right, troopers. Let's get the lady her ship back." Hero said.

"Hooaah!" The troopers shouted out.

* * *

As the Alesia neared the John A. Warden, Captain Jonah soon ordered. "Initiate docking procedure."

"Initiating docking procedure." The pilot said as the Alesia angled close to the Warden.

* * *

Back in the locker room, Hero began to divide the troopers into squads. "Team One. Lieutenant Daugherty, Ice, Trig, Mech, Shock Jock leading Captain Ibanez to the bridge." He said as Carmen came in with a Fleet issued helmet. "Team Two. Archangel, Chase, Kharon, Chow, Bugspray, Gunfodder, Ratzass, Holy Man and the rest of you, you're coming with me to the engine room. Don't know what we're gonna find in there, so be ready for anything." Hero looked at the troopers with a determined glint. "Let's go!"

* * *

When the Alesia docked with the John A. Warden, the troopers began to gather in their teams as the first team waited. When the doors opened, Daugherty and Ice Blonde had their helmet lights turned on before the two kicked off from the ground and floated to the other side. When they landed, they activated their magnetic locks installed in their boots as they carefully walked forward with the rest of Team One following.

When the next set of doors opened, Team One got in front of Carmen with their weapons ready in case there was a threat. Seeing none, Daugherty radioed to the other team. "We're in. Team One, moving to the bridge." He said a bit quietly. He gestured to Ice to move up while Trig and Mech covered the right side as Carmen, with Shock Jock behind her, followed.

* * *

Soon after, Team Two boarded the ship as well as Hero radioed to the other team. "Team Two boarding. Moving toward the engine." He said as he along with the rest of Team Two continued on.

* * *

Back with Team One, the troopers each found the darkness to be a bit unsettling as they led Captain Ibanez towards the bridge. Daugherty soon noticed something as he stopped. "Something up ahead." He told the others before seeing that they were corpses of the John A. Warden's crew.

"Oh my God." Carmen muttered in shock as one of the bodies drifted past her.

"Team Two, we've got bodies near the bridge." Daugherty radioed to Hero.

* * *

"We've got bodies everywhere." Hero reported back as he along with the rest of Team Two arrived at a corridor leading to the engines and floating around were the shredded bodies of many of the John A. Warden's crew.

"Jesus Christ…" Arc muttered.

Chase backed up in disgust. "Oh, man, they've been bug ripped." He said as he looked at Hero.

The former K-12 leader looked down at the bodies. "Infestation confirmed. Stay sharp, people."

"Nearing objective." Hero heard Daugherty's voice over his com.

* * *

Back with Team One, Daugherty and Ice Blonde entered the bridge before the Lieutenant radioed to Varro. "Daugherty to Team Two. We're on the bridge." He said as he and Ice checked the area only to notice the corpses slouched on the chairs or drifting from the loose of gravity. "And it ain't pretty."

The veteran moved up a few feet as he checked a body slouched on a communications console. "We've got multiple casualties." He said quietly before noticing a larger mass in the room. "And one dead bug." Daugherty responded as he shined his helmet lights on the corpse of a Warrior Bug, riddled with bullet holes.

Seeing that there were no hostiles in the area, Daugherty shouted. "All clear." He soon addressed his medic. "Shock Jock."

Said medic walked over to a dead Federation officer as he checked the body's injuries. "Massive tearing wounds." He responded before backing up, nearly vomiting in his helmet at the sight. "Oh my God…" He muttered, trying to ease his stomach.

Carmen came in soon after as Ice Blonde, Trig, and Mech guarded the entrance to the bridge. The John A. Warden's captain looked at the bodies of each deceased crewman on the bridge. "My crew…" She said quietly before she looked slightly away from the sight of the corpses.

Daugherty soon radioed to Varro. "Bridge is secure. Team Two, what's your status? Over."

* * *

Back at the engine room, Hero received the transmission. "Entering engine room now. Over."

As the second team continued on in the darkness, some of the troopers started getting bad feelings about the ship.

"Anybody else feel that this is almost too easy?" Arc questioned.

"Now that you mention it…" Bugspray started.

Chase, assigned as Team Two's scout, saw something as he quickly ran over to a corner and peeked over as his helmet HUD caught sight of corpses of both troopers and bugs. "Fucking bloodbath…" He muttered. "Team Two scout. I've got dead troopers and bugs." He radioed to Varro.

When the rest of Team Two came in, they noticed the bodies as well.

"Holy shit!" Ratzass said, a bit shocked.

"Amen." Holy Man muttered, looking at the bodies.

The team was silent as they checked the engine room.

"Why'd they all die here?" Ratzass wondered.

"Focus on the mission, troopers." Hero said sharply before looking back. "Chow, prep the engines."

"Yes, sir." Chow responded as he walked into the engine control room while carrying a briefcase.

Meanwhile, Chase was using the motion tracker to locate anything living in the area. When his tracker started beeping much faster, he quickly walked in the direction of the signal before stopping. "Major, I have a survivor." He told the K-12 leader.

"Well, find him." Hero said in a sharp tone. "Chow, what's the status on that engine?"

"Give me ten." Chow said quietly as he typed on a computer terminal that was inside the briefcase.

"You got five." Varro countered.

"Yes, sir." The A-01 trooper responded a bit quieter.

"Team One, engines operative in five." Hero radioed to Daugherty.

"That a real five minutes or a sort of five minutes? Over" The Lieutenant questioned over Hero's com.

"Hard five and we've got a possible survivor. Going to investigate. Over." Varro replied on the com before he and Chase went off to find the source of the signal. "Gunfodder, have Team One hold position. Bugspray and Ratzass, cover Chow."

"Like paint, Major." Ratzass responded with a thumbs-up.

* * *

When Hero and Chase found the location the signal was originating, Chase moved his tracker numerous ways to get a better signal when it started to slow. When he looked at the Major, Varro did a gesture to go silent as they both activated the 'Sneak' function in their armor. They tap tips of their boots to test if the clacking of metal against metal had stopped. Once they were satisfied with their equipment working, they killed their headlights and activated their IR View.

Hero took point while Chase followed after him. When they entered, they noticed that the room was big enough to be a cargo hold considering the numerous amounts of large steel crates stacked up together. The two troopers covered the area, looking for the survivor. They soon passed the body of another crewmember of the John A. Warden but the two trudged on, focusing on their mission.

While looking around, Chase noticed a dead bug next to a pretty banged up terminal. "Looks like they were trying to make this into a lab." He told Varro.

Hero looked at Chase before gesturing with his head causing the A-01 trooper to follow him. The young trooper stood next to Hero as the two stared straight at a large bulkhead while the pulsing sound on his tracker moved faster before Chase stopped it. "What is that thing?" The A-01 trooper asked.

"A holding cell. To keep a bug inside." Varro responded as he looked at the blood marks and scratches on the bulkhead. "Now it looks like they were trying to keep 'em out and somebody else in."

* * *

Back on the bridge, Carmen checked a console at the pilot seats. "Emergency power supply from Alesia seems to be working." She said quietly before radioing to the two MI teams. "Team One, Team Two, gravity restoration in five, four, three, two…"

* * *

Down in the engine room, Bugspray and Ratzass continued to cover Chow as they heard a feint buzzing until pieces of dead bugs clattered onto the ground, causing them both to jump in fright. Another piece of bug parts fell next to Ratzass. "Fuck!" He exclaimed.

Archangel chuckled at their reactions before he continued to look around the area.

* * *

On the bridge, Carmen relayed information to the two teams. "Internal oxygen level is green." The moment she said that, she opened the glass visor of her helmet as she took a deep intake of breath, sighing in relief at fresh oxygen.

"I'd feel a lot better if I knew what happened to those bugs." Daugherty told the Captain, unable to relax when the threat of the bugs still lingered.

"Wouldn't we all?" Carmen wondered.

* * *

Down in the engine room as Chow worked on getting the engines back online, Hero motioned for Chase to use a cable camera to check through the slits of the holding cell. When the cable got in a few feet, a quiet voice was heard. "Who's there?"

When the camera feed came back, it showed Carl Jenkins, looking a bit worse for wear. Hero decided to take the initiative. "Major Varro." He responded.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on trial." Carl said, sounding a bit irritated.

"Yeah, well…" Varro started before his visor and facemask retracted, revealing his face. "Looks like that plan was about as successful as your little experiment here. What happened on this ship, Jenkins?" He demanded.

"I hacked her, so she hacked me." Carl answered, sounding a bit crazy.

Hero and Chase looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the screen on the tracker. "She? What do you mean 'she'?" Varro questioned.

"Worthy opponent. She hacked everything. Me, the ship, everything!" Carl said in a maddened tone. "Well, of course she did. She knew what I was thinking." He then repeated the same mantra. "Thoughts become words, words become deeds."

"We're gonna get you outta here. You and I can settle our score later." Hero stated, not really in the mood for the Psychic's bullshit. "Open the door, Jenkins."

"And let you kill me? No!" Carl shouted. "Besides, it's safer in here. Safest place on the ship. My safe place, yes. Safe place. My safe house." He continued, deranged.

"Open the door, Jenkins." Hero growled in irritation.

"You think it's funny?" Carl looked at the camera with an angry look in his eyes. "Turning tables? Tables turned? I arrested you, now I'm the one in the cage. You think that's funny? Do you? Do you?" He shouted.

"I'll leave your ass here, don't think I won't." Varro threatened. "You figure it out while we clear the rest of the ship. Have this door open by the time we get back."

"There's nothing to clear!" Jenkins interjected. "The crew's dead. Everyone's dead." He got all up in front of the camera. "Darkness… Darkness is your friend. Whatever you do, don't turn on the lights." He warned.

* * *

While Hero and Chase pondered what Carl said, Chow, who had his visor and facemask retracted, was nearly finished with the activation of the engines. "Let there be light." He muttered before pumping his fist in achievement. "Yes."

Soon enough the lights began to turn back on in the engine room which caused a few of the troopers in Team Two to have hidden smiles.

Archangel on the other hand seemed a bit unnerved. "Something doesn't feel right…" He muttered as he cocked his Morita, ready for an engagement.

* * *

When Hero and Chase heard the sound of lights turning on, the Team Two lead quickly radioed to the scout. "Varro to Chow, do not restart the engines!" His visor and facemask closed as he placed to fingers on his com. "Varro to Chow, do not restart the engines! Do you copy?" He questioned as he and Chase ran back to their team, leaving the tracker hanging on the door.

"Don't be afraid of the dark." Carl said in an amused tone.

* * *

As the John A. Warden came to life, the lights blared on in the bridge. Carmen looking around with a grin at the Team Two scout's work. "Good job, Chow. Bridge is green."

* * *

Unknown to the troopers, a large entity felt the ship come alive once more before bulkheads opened, releasing Warrior Bugs out into the corridors.

* * *

As Hero and Chase used the augmented strength boosters in their legs, they jumped over the crates but on the other side were a couple of Warrior Bugs waiting for them.

Chase gasped in shock when he noticed that he mistimed his jump as he rolled directly in the middle of bugs before being swarmed by the Warriors. The bugs used their sharp appendages to puncture Chase's armor as the young trooper tried to fight back but there were too many bugs for his simple Morita to eliminate.

Hero looked down at his fellow trooper's predicament as he kicked off the top of the crates and landed a few yards away. "Chase!" He shouted to his comrade.

The young trooper retracted his visor and facemask, a look of determination on his face as he brought up an explosive. "Grenade!" He warned Varro as Chase activated the detonator. Soon after, he was consumed in a fiery explosion which killed his attackers.

Varro shielded his eyes before he quickly stood up and ran. "Bugs! We've got bugs! Multiple contacts!" He radioed to the troopers onboard as a Warrior followed after him.

* * *

Back in the engine room, Holy Man, who had his own visor and helmet retracted, had a look of shock on his face. "Holy shit!" He said before his visor and facemask resealed as he along with the rest of Team Two opened fire on the approaching Warriors.

As the troopers fought, a female trooper from A-01 noticed a Warrior coming for her but before she could retaliate, she was snatched up in the bug's jaws and shaken like a ragdoll, killing her. A male A-01 trooper looked at the sight in shock before his comrade's body was thrown right at him, sending him to the ground as he tried to get the woman's body off him until the bugs swarmed him.

Kharon took a brief glance at Holy Man before returning fire at the approaching Warriors. "It's that abyss you were talking about." He exclaimed as he continued firing his rifle.

* * *

Back at the bridge, Team One heard Bugspray over the intercom. "Engine room under attack!" He shouted in distress.

Daugherty soon turned to his teammates. "Take positions! They're coming." He said as he along with Ice Blonde, Trig, Shock Jock, and Mech took up a defensive formation at the entrance of the bridge.

* * *

Down in the engine room, a Warrior was peppered with armor-piercing rounds before collapsing dead as more of its brethren charged at Team Two.

"Fucking hell, just die already!" Archangel shouted as he killed another bug by shooting at its nerve stem.

Bugspray gestured to his teammates to move back quickly before focusing on holding the bugs back.

Chow ran out of the control room for the engines before exclaiming as he killed an approaching bug with his Morita then another that tried to get him from behind.

Bugspray's visor and facemask retracted as he shouted to the others. "Get back to the airlock! Move and fire!"

As the troopers continued to fire at the Warriors approaching, none of them noticed one sneaked away before it was too late. Kharon had a brief glance of the Warrior before he was struck by the sharp appendage on the sides of the bug's head, clipping his hip as he released a pained cry.

"No!" Holy Man exclaimed as he poured a few rounds into the bug that attacked his fellow K-12, killing Kharon's attacker.

When the bug fell, red blood dripped down from Kharon's wound. He retracted his facemask and visor before telling Holy Man. "I'll draw 'em off! You go!" He wheezed as he fired at the bugs while limping away from his teammates as the Warriors focused their attention on him.

As Holy Man continued to move back, the automated doors began to close. While Kharon played bait, a Warrior snuck up behind him and stabbed him through the chest eliciting another pained groan from him.

"No! We're not leaving him!" Holy Man shouted to his K-12 teammates as he felt conflicted on leaving one of his brothers-in-arms to their deaths.

Kharon, while being swarmed and skewered by the bugs, managed to muster enough strength to speak his last words to his friend. "Go! I'll see you on the other side." He wheezed before he remained motionless.

When the bugs were finished killing Kharon, they charged towards the door as Holy Man performed a silent prayer to his fallen K-12 brother as the doors closed completely, causing a few bugs to collide with the metal bulkhead.

"Holy Man! Hold formation and fire!" Bugspray called out to the religious trooper, who snapped out of his stupor with renewed vengeance as he fired at the approaching Warriors that came from the left corridor.

Ratzass grunted as he fired his Morita SAW at the swarm as his visor and facemask retracted. "Die, bugs!" He shouted as one of his bullets shot a Warrior's arm off. "You think I give a rat's ass if I die?"

"Come on, motherfuckers! I'm right here! Give it your best shot, you sons of bitches!" Archangel shouted angrily as he fired the high explosive rounds in his Morita which caused a few of the bugs to have small green blood explosions on areas of their exoskeletons.

"This way!" Bugspray shouted as the troopers ran.

Before they could continue, another group of bugs came from the other side of the corridor, boxing Team Two in what seemed to be a hopeless situation as the troopers fought in what appeared to be their last stand.

With the bugs that blocked their way focused on them, the troopers had no idea that three high explosive grenades were tossed into the center of the swarm of bugs until they exploded. The resulting explosion killed a generous amount of bugs that blocked their way before Bugspray noticed something in the smoke.

A Warrior looked around, trying to discern what had happened before bullets from a Morita ended its life as Hero appeared when the smoke started to clear. The Team Two lead looked at his troopers while his visor and facemask retracted. "Get to the airlock."

The sight of Varro caused the troopers to renew their sprint as they ran down the corridor only to come up at the entrance to the main generators.

While the rest of Team Two sprinted through the entrance, Bugspray, Ratzass, and Archangel gave them covering fire before they joined their teammates.

"Bridge, we're heading to the airlock." Varro radioed.

"And they are right on our ass." Bugspray added in.

"Roger that." Daugherty responded over the team's comms.

As the team ran, Hero growled silently under his breath. "Goddamn it." He muttered.

While running away from the bugs behind them, they noticed a few Warriors were in front as the troopers run-and-gunned the bugs down.

As they continued on, one of the bugs broke through and snatched up a trooper in its jaws, causing him to scream in terror. One of his fellow A-01's tried to help by shooting at the bug but realized he was too late as he continued on with the rest of the team while the trooper that was snatched up was dropped onto the ground with a large hole in his gut.

Glancing to his left, Hero noticed a large mass on the other side of the girders. Before he could shoot whatever was on the other side, he looked up and noticed a couple bugs on the ceiling. Two of the bugs dropped with one of them landing on an A-01 trooper with its upper jaw lodged in his chest while the other crushed another trooper using its weight, breaking the trooper's neck and killing him.

Hero used the augmented strength in the legs of his suit to jump into the air while he unleashed a volley of bullets straight down on the bugs, killing the ones that crushed his teammates as he landed then sprinted.

Ratzass, Archangel, and the others plowed right through the other bugs that dropped as they continued on. One bug tried to slash Chow from above but the young trooper avoided it by rolling out of the way. When he noticed the Warrior try to attack him with its arm-like blade, he cart wheeled away from its attack then roundhouse kicked it back.

Chow fully retracted his helmet as he got into his martial arts stance. The Warrior took the challenge head on but Chow was too quick as he launched a devastating kick right at the bug's nerve stem, sending it flying back due to his power armor's augmented strength.

When the bug landed on its back dead, Chow was unprepared when a Warrior came up from behind and stabbed him through the collarbone which knocked his spine out of alignment, killing him.

Ratzass looked back and noticed his comrade's fate. "Chow!" When he saw the bugs quickening their pace, he turned and ran like a madman. "Run!"

* * *

Back on the bridge, Carmen radioed Captain Jonah. "Alesia, we are under massive bug attack. Request immediate evac." She stood up and followed Daugherty and his team. "Repeat, request immediate evac."

She received a response from the Alesia's captain. "Roger that. Alesia is preparing for your retrieval."

When Daugherty noticed his team and Captain Ibanez ready to move, he gestured with his head. "Let's go." The team soon ran down the corridor, all the while covering Carmen from any bug attacks.

* * *

Back with Team Two, the surviving troopers continued their run-and-gun sprint as a message from Captain Jonah came up on the intercom. "This is Alesia. Ready for your arrival. Over."

As Team Two was nearly at the entrance to the airlock, Team One came up and back them up as the Team Two troopers continued to open fire on the bugs until a Warrior came out of nowhere and rammed Gunfodder, sending him colliding on the steel floor. The bug snapped its jaws onto his left arm and tore it off, only to notice that it was Gunfodder's prosthetic arm. The K-12 trooper brought up his Morita with his right arm but it no rounds came out when he pulled the trigger.

"It's jammed!" He exclaimed, dropping his rifle while Hero dragged him to the other side of the closing bulkhead doors. When the doors fully closed, a few bugs collided with it and fell.

* * *

As the troopers took a momentary breather and checked the perimeter for any sign of incoming Warriors, Gunfodder was laid against the corner of the bulkhead doors with blood pooling from between the cracks and slits of his armor. He tried to stand up with a pained groan before he fell back into his seated position once more as Shock Jock kneeled right next to him.

"I don't suppose you have a good replacement part to fix this." Gunfodder joked weakly as his face contorted in pain from his internal injuries.

Shock Jock retracted his helmet, wanting to at least reassure the K-12 trooper. "You're gonna make it."

"O-Oh, that's right. You can't let me die." Gunfodder weakly said with a small grin. "I'm the only one of your patients that's lived." With one last gurgled groan, the injured K-12 trooper's head lulled to the side as he passed on while Shock Jock lowered his head in respect.

"It doesn't get any easier…" Archangel said, getting the focus of the rest of the troopers as well as Carmen. "Sometimes death comes for us when we least expect it." He said as he looked at Gunfodder's body and reached inside the collar of his armor, removing his dog tags as he pulled his arm back. The S-09 member walked to Hero and handed the tags over to him which Varro accepted as he placed them in his storage container on his back.

"What do you mean by that, Commander?" Carmen questioned.

The black-red trooper looked at the Captain before his helmet retracted then he reached into his storage device and brought out a large amount of dog tags. "These belonged to the troopers that were under my command when I first went into battle." His crimson eyes soon dulled. "I could still hear their screams of pain and agony… their cries for help… pleads to see their mothers, fathers, and siblings… I've seen it all." Arc soon stored the dog tags back in his storage compartment. "From that day on, I swore that I wouldn't let any trooper under my command die. That's why S-09 was formed… we were to be the Guardian Angels for our troops and the Grim Reapers for the bugs."

"Wow… that's some story, kid." Ratzass said in awe.

"I can't believe… that many troopers died under your command." Ice Blonde muttered.

Daugherty grimaced at the thought of seeing a travesty like that. Most COs who lost that many men would either have lost their sanity, quit the Mobile Infantry, or shot themselves in the head while drinking away their sorrows. It goes to show that he was mildly impressed that the young man before him was able to continue on with his duties like any other soldier.

"I stand to reason that Sigma was formed secretly?" Hero asked.

Archangel nodded. "The Sky Marshall thought it best to bring in a new line of soldier into the war against the bugs. Just like the famed Marauders, Sigma, also codenamed Project DEMIGOD, was basically a black-ops specialist group at first with the plan to create the galaxy's first super soldier, not like the ones in those old 21st Century comic books, but a living weapon capable of lifting five times an athletic human man, grant speed greater than a cheetah, and a mind capable of storing more knowledge than even a person with an IQ of 300." He revealed, causing many of the troopers to look at him in shock.

"Who funded this project?" Mech asked, slightly freaked out by this revelation.

"PSICOM, along with numerous other black market dealers on Terra or on colony worlds, were the ones who funded the project." Archangel answered.

"How did it start?" Bugspray questioned.

"Originally, they had troopers who were sole survivors or volunteers from their squads, but the procedures for an adult proved to be fatal and it led to some… unspoken casualties." The raven-haired teen answered. "The process for a super soldier required children, but even that would be fatal… so they did something different…" He went silent at the memories.

"Do I dare ask what they did?" Carmen said, not liking where it was going.

Arc looked up. "In order for the project to succeed… they created ten artificial wombs that each housed a subject for the program. In other words… clones." He said, causing them to look in horror at what the red-eyed young man said.

"Clones?!" Trig exclaimed.

"Good Lord…" Holy Man said, performing a prayer.

"That is fucked up…" Ratzass muttered.

"So… you're one of these… clones?" Shock Jock asked, completely stupefied.

Arc grinned rather sadly. "Actually… I'm the only clone that survived. The rest of my brothers and sisters died before they could even take their first breath." The troopers flinched at the thought of infants dying and that the one standing before them was the only survivor. "Since then, I was trained and fed information on battle strategies, combat situations, and weapons. I became the first super soldier in the Mobile Infantry but the scientists that created me saw that a soldier with no human emotion couldn't be counted as human in the military. So I was given to a couple on a colony world to be raised as well as bring out my emotions. My foster parents loved me like their own son and I, in turn, loved them. I even made a couple friends as well during my time on that world. My best friend was a girl who helped bring out my emotions." He had a faint smile on his face when he recalled the memory of his best friend. "But then came the day I was taken back to the project once my emotions came to light. My parents were devastated but I assured them I would return every once in a while…" His expression turned grim. "Until bug plasma destroyed the town my parents lived in, along with everyone that resided there. From then on, I had a deep hatred for the bugs and I swore to kill every last one that I got my hands on."

The troopers didn't know what to say to the S-09 trooper before Varro looked him in the eye, despite the face his visor blocked his own. "Then how did the rest of Sigma form?" He questioned.

"Funny story… each of the members was recruited because of their efficiency in combat, their military records, their specialties, and even a few things that MI scratched off to the public eye. When they were assigned to my squad, I will admit, I didn't get along with one of them, but over time we all became close, like a family. We protected each other, fought side-by-side, and respected one another." Archangel said in reminiscent before his helmet closed up. "But that's enough for now; we need to get off this godforsaken ship."

The troopers nodded as Hero, Ice Blonde, Shock Jock, and Captain Ibanez waited at the airlock doors after the first set opened. "Open the airlock." Hero radioed to Captain Jonah and before they knew it, the secondary doors opened. Varro glanced at Shock Jock and noticed he looked a bit antsy until he gestured to him. "Shock Jock, you go first."

"Yes, sir." Shock Jock responded in slight relief as he jogged back to the Alesia.

* * *

As Shock Jock was halfway through the airlock, the Warden's high-powered laser cannons came online as they aimed at the Alesia.

Captain Jonah stood up in surprise. "What the hell? Evasive action!" She ordered her bridge crew.

Before the Alesia could move, the John A. Warden's laser cannons fired, striking the Alesia as the main section of its body was pierced by the red hot lasers.

* * *

"Shock Jock!" Ice Blonde cried out to her fellow A-01 trooper. Soon after, the Alesia exploded while the airlock tube was snapped in half. Shock Jock took a last glance at Varro, Ice Blonde, and Carmen before the flames pushed him out into space as a piece of the Alesia's burning wreckage passed right through his abdomen.

* * *

The airlock doors sealed, preventing some of the fire from getting to Hero, Ice, and Captain Ibanez. The three turned back and met with the rest of the troopers.

"What the hell just happened?" Daugherty questioned.

Hero, whose facemask and visor were retracted, looked at the Lieutenant. "The Alesia is gone."

"Did we just fire on them?" Ice Blonde asked in disbelief.

"Alesia!" Carmen went to the com in her helmet. "Captain Jonah! Answer me!" When she received no answer, she lowered her arm at the hopeless situation before she addressed the gathered troopers. "Listen up, everyone. We head to the bridge. Now!" She turned and walked off towards the direction of the bridge with the troopers following her except for Hero, Archangel, and Ratzass.

"Since when is she giving orders?" Ratzass asked, his own facemask and visor retracted, causing Arc to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Since we boarded her ship." Hero pointed out in a gruff tone.

Ratzass shrugged with a small grin. "Just asking."

Archangel rolled his eyes before he along with the two K-12 troopers heard the screeches of Warriors from behind.

"Bugs!" Ratzass exclaimed as his helmet was fully closed along with Hero as the three troopers opened fire on the Warrior Bugs before turning tail and ran after the others.

* * *

While the troopers followed the Captain to the bridge, down in the cargo hold near the engine room, two Warriors stood in front of the holding cell that Carl resided.

The psychic repeated the same mantra as he rocked himself with a lifeless look in his eyes. "I hacked her so she hacked me…"

* * *

At the bridge, the troopers arrived looking like they haven't even broken a sweat while Captain Ibanez was panting like crazy. She removed her helmet while the troopers retracted their own.

Daugherty crouched down in front of Carmen. "Are you alright, Captain?" He asked as he gently lifted the woman up by the arm.

Still breathing heavily, Carmen managed to speak. "You know, if I wanted to run this much, I would have joined the Mobile Infantry." She breathed out. The Captain soon took the pilot seat and tried to contact a Federation line.

"Captain Ibanez to the L-6 base. High Command, this is the John A. Warden." She panted, looking a bit desperate. "Johnny, please respond."

"Communication is always jaggy near wormholes. I recommend we position ourselves away from the nebula." Daugherty voiced to the Captain.

"How did the cannons fire? And why target our own ship?" Carmen wondered.

"Jenkins tried to warn us." Hero voiced out.

"Carl is alive?" Carmen said in surprise as she looked at the Major.

"Locked himself in a bug cage." Varro said.

"And you're just not telling me this?" Carmen questioned with an irritated look on her face.

Hero narrowed his eyes. "Look, Captain, if you're ready for a full debriefing, I'm all for it." He said, raising his voice a little.

"Hero…" Bugspray muttered with a grin.

"Jenkins found a queen on Fort Casey. He ordered us to capture it alive." Varro said, looking at his surviving K-12 team members and Archangel.

"What the…" Carmen muttered, looking down a bit.

"Tell her the rest, Major." Ratzass said.

"Yes, Major." Carmen repeated with a tone equivalent to a scolding mother. "Tell me the rest of it."

"I knew trying to take the queen would result in heavy casualties." Varro said, walking a bit before looking at the Captain and gesturing to the other K-12 members. "I wasn't gonna sacrifice my men for a bug hunt."

"And while it wasn't the Major's men who were sacrificed, a good handful of other troopers died in the process getting that oversized bitch." Archangel added.

"So that's why he had you arrested." Carmen realized, looking at Hero. "But he got the queen after all. Wait a minute." She looks around the bridge. "How the hell can a bug control the starship?" She questioned.

"You're gonna have to ask Jenkins that." Hero said.

Soon enough, the John A. Warden began to lightly shake.

Carmen sat back in the pilot seat. "We're moving."

"Where?" Daugherty questioned.

"No idea. But if the queen is in control…" Carmen started, her hands gripping the controls.

"We need to stop her from getting there." Varro finished the Captain's sentence.

"How?" Carmen questioned.

"Back to the engine room. Shut 'em down." Hero stated.

"Negative." Daugherty interjected. "Not enough soldiers or ammo."

Holy Man got on his knees as he performed a few motions with his hands. Ratzass looked at his fellow K-12. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked.

"Praying." The religious trooper answered.

"Keep it up." Carmen said. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Something tells me that we're gonna need more than God's help." Archangel muttered as he checked his rifle's ammo clip.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the troopers conducted their next plan of action, the John A. Warden was on a course towards a wormhole a few kilometers ahead.

* * *

On the bridge, Bugspray and Ratzass entered carrying two separate cases in their hands. "Now we're back in business." Bugspray said, gesturing to the cases in his hands.

"Captain, you need to take a look at this." Daugherty told Carmen, as everyone looked on the main screen to see the wormhole come into view.

"She's heading straight for the Marhsal Helm wormhole." Carmen said, slightly surprised.

"It'll take her straight to Earth." Varro said, finishing everyone's thoughts. The troopers looked on surprised and shocked at the news.

"This is Captain Ibanez to the L-6 base. Captain Ibanez calling L-6 base." Carmen said over the com, unaware that Trig began to unclip her power armor. "This is Captain Ibanez to Jonny Rico. L-6 base, come in! This is Captain I…" She was interrupted when the sound of power armor clanked on the metal floors, causing everyone to look at Trig, who was only in her sleeveless bodysuit.

"What the hell are you doing?" Varro questioned as Trig used the butt of her sniper rifle to smash open a vent.

The sniper looked at Varro. "If she is in the engine room, then I'm gonna hunt her down." She said, after slinging her rifle inside.

"I'll back you up." Bugspray said.

"No. You stay. Besides, you'll never be able to fit through here." She said before giving Bugspray, a reassuring grin. "I'll be back." Trig soon hoisted herself into the vent before slinging her sniper rifle on her shoulders as she crawled through the vent.

"You're not gonna stop her?" Bugspray questioned.

"She's a big girl." Ice Blonde spoke. "She knows what she's doing."

"She'll be fine. Just have faith." Arc said as he brushed a bang out of his face.

"Do we?" Ratzass questioned.

"I bypassed the circuit board." Carmen told the K-12 trooper as she gripped the controls. "If we can gain control without being detected…" She noticed the Warden was getting much closer to the wormhole. "Strap yourselves in." She ordered the troopers.

Each one took a seat, regardless if it was covered in blood or not. Ratzass on the other hand…

"I'm not gonna sit in that blood seat." He complained.

Archangel sighed. "Is this really the time for your bitching?" He deadpanned.

"Fuck you!" Ratzass said, flipping him the bird.

"Sorry, but I like women." Arc retorted with an amused grin while Ratzass glared at the younger trooper.

"Do it." Varro ordered the trooper, who reluctantly sat in the blood splattered seat with disgust written on his facial features.

Soon enough, the holographic screen blared red as the words 'Access Denied' appeared. "She's onto us." Carmen voiced.

Most of the troopers muttered curses or gritted their teeth in irritation before they heard the familiar screeching of Warriors at the opened door of the bridge.

"Fuck!" Archangel exclaimed as he stood up.

"Fire!" Hero ordered as he raised his Morita while the other troopers stood up, grabbed their own rifles, and released battle cries as they opened fire on the bugs.

* * *

While the troopers fired on their uninvited 'guests', the John A. Warden soon entered the wormhole, sending it and its passengers on the target destination…

...Earth

* * *

 **AN: Damn, that one took a bit longer than I thought. Anyways, I actually had a bit of fun writing this chapter. Yes, to some Starship Trooper fans who have watched Invasion, I'm sorry if you think I shouldn't have let some of the troopers die, but I wanna at least go canon on this.**

 **Also, I managed to get all of the members for Sigma and after the next chapter, I will post up their character sheets as well as the ones who were kind enough to read my story and send me their OCs.**

 **Since the John A. Warden Arc is almost over, I will need some OCs for Star Fox characters once I get to that.**

 **Anyways, please send some reviews but no flames or I will destroy you.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the final part in the John A. Warden arc. I hope you true believers out there aren't giving up on me. If so… I'll kill ya *Laughs in a joking manner before sporting a blank expression* I'm serious.**

 **Anyways, after this the character sheet with all of Sigma's members will be next then I will begin the journey to the Lylat System.**

 **Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OC, Starship Troopers or Star Fox; all rights go to their respective owners.**

 **Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!**

* * *

 **Starship Troopers: Sigma 09**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Invasion! Kill the Queen!**

 **March 9, 2305; Starship John A. Warden [exiting wormhole on approach to the planet Earth]**

On the bridge of the Warden, bullets pierced the bodies of Warrior bugs, eliciting pained screeches from the alien insects.

The troopers roared out their battle cries as the clattering of spent shell casings impacted the steel floors.

* * *

At the L-6 base high above Earth's orbit, a Federation radar operator informed General Rico. "General, a Federation starship has just emerged from the Marhsal Helm wormhole." When the operator checked again, she seemed a bit surprised. "It's… It's the John A. Warden."

"On screen." Rico ordered as a vid screen opened, showing the Warden.

"They're receiving our signal, sir." The signal operator informed.

"Any response?" Rico questioned.

"No, sir, they're not responding." The operator responded.

"Something's wrong." Rico muttered with narrowed eyes. "Why would they head back towards Earth?"

"Sir, if they keep their current trajectory, the John A. Warden… Sir, it's heading straight for us." The operator informed, a bit panicked.

"John A. Warden, this is General Rico. Come in." Rico spoke over the com but received no reply. "John A. Warden, this is the L-6 base. If you do not change course immediately, we will be forced to engage. Repeat, the L-6 base will take defensive action if you do not change course." Rico's expression soon turned angry. "John A. Warden, respond." He still received no word. "Talk to me, Carmen." He muttered.

* * *

Back on the Warden, Bugspray, Hero, and Ice Blonde peppered the last Warrior bug with the remaining ammo in their clips. Once the bug fell, it was still alive long enough to see Ratzass bring up his Morita with a Gatling gun attachment aimed at its eye. Ratzass roared as he overkills the bug with the Gatling gun.

Carmen focused ahead. "The L-6 base. We've got to warn Johnny." She said as she tried the com-link but still couldn't get a response.

"Morse code." Ratzass said.

"We can't use the beacon." The Captain retorted. "She has control of the ship."

Ratzass walked over to the glass windows with a smug grin. "She doesn't have control of this." He stated as he used the Gatling gun on his rifle to send a signal in Morse code to the L-6 base.

* * *

Back at the L-6 base, the radar operator informed General Rico. "General, there's fire on the bridge of the John A. Warden."

"Get me a closer look at that ship." Rico ordered as the vid screen zoomed in to show flashes on the bridge. "It's Morse code. They're trying to send us a message." He said quietly as he read the signals coming from the bridge. "'Repeat, bugs in control.'" Rico narrowed his eyes in question. "How the hell can bugs control a starship?" The realization suddenly hit him. "Goddamn you, Carl. Deployment status?" He addressed his communications officer.

"Sheridan, Ishizuka, and the Franklin are heading to intercept." The officer responded as two fast attack-class ships similar to the Alesia and one _John A. Warden_ -class moved to intercept the rogue starship. The L-6 base brought up its twin high-powered laser cannons which were aimed right at the John A. Warden.

When the Warden flew within firing range, the queen roared as she released a signal that caused the forward laser cannons to fire at the three Federation ships in the Warden's way. The fast attack-class vessels responded in kind as the Ishizuka and Sheridan fired their own laser cannons.

Before the Sheridan could get a hit, the forward bow of the ship took a direct hit from the Warden's cannons. The ship's crew held on to either their chairs or controls from the attack.

"The Sheridan has taken catastrophic damage." The operator informed Rico before the Sheridan soon exploded.

The Warden's laser fire soon struck the Franklin, damaging the large ship while the Ishizuka tried to attack head on only for the laser fire to overwhelm its outer hull and soon enough, the Ishizuka exploded, destroying the ship.

"The Franklin is critical but operational." The operator informed.

"Franklin, disengage. Get clear of the John A. Warden!" Rico ordered.

The Franklin followed the command as it weaved to avoid the Warden's laser cannons but one lucky shot managed to hit its upper left engine as the two ships skidded from each other causing the troopers on the Warden's bridge to nearly tumble.

"The John A. Warden is approaching on a crash course. Ready to intercept, sir. Main cannon armed and ready." The operator told her CO.

Rico was torn, his sense of duty or the lives of his two oldest friends. "Carmen… Carl…" He muttered.

When the John A. Warden was nearly at the base, the operator snapped her CO out of his thoughts. "Commander!"

Rico stood up from his seat. "Open…" He started with some hesitation. "…fire!"

The L-6 base's twin laser cannons fired at the Warden but the starship managed to avoid the attack as it continued on its course.

"Fire!" Rico ordered.

"Sir, we can't fire now." The operator interjected. "They're too close."

As the Warden flew on, Rico narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, feeling helpless at his current situation. He waited for his inevitable demise before something happened that shocked even him… the Warden flew right passed the L-6 base and right towards Terra.

"They missed us." The officer said.

"Yeah. But why?" Rico wondered.

"Commander, I have the Warden's trajectory. It's heading straight for the Earth." The operator informed the General.

"They never meant to ram us. We were just in their way." Rico muttered to himself.

Rico went back to his seat and ordered a connection to High Command on Earth. "This is General Rico to Earth Defense Command. The John A. Warden is under bug control and entering Earth's atmosphere."

Soon enough, an elderly man wearing a Federation uniform with the rank of Commander pinned on his right pectoral region. "It's what? The John A. Warden?" The Commander questioned. "Rico, I don't care if John A. Warden is on that ship himself! If that ship is infested, you take it down."

"Just give me a chance to do both, sir. Rescue our men and gain control." Rico reasoned.

"Rico…" The Defense Commander started, knowing what the veteran was planning.

"Commander, I promise. A bug invasion will not happen on my watch, sir." Rico reassured the elderly man.

"It better not." The Commander said sternly before cutting the transmission.

"Spaceborne Command, prepare a drop!" Rico ordered on the com.

* * *

As the Warden began to enter Earth's atmosphere, the troopers on the bridge were running out of options.

"What now?" Bugspray asked.

"Daugherty, you stay here and protect the Captain." Varro ordered causing the Lieutenant to look at Carmen, who nodded in understanding. "The rest of you… lock and load. It's time we exterminate that bitch."

The surviving A-01 and K-12 troopers raised their rifles and cocked the pins. "Hooaah!" They cheered in unison.

"Sorry to say Major, but if we all go together then every bug on this ship will come after us." Archangel interjected.

"And what do you suggest then, Commander?" Hero questioned with a raised eyebrow.

A bit of a feral grin crossed his handsome features as his helmet fully sealed his head. "Simple… I play bait." He said as if it were a simple thing.

"Think you can handle it, kid?" Daugherty asked.

"Please… I wasn't made the leader of Sigma for my good looks." Archangel said in a joking manner.

The troopers soon exited the bridge and advanced down the corridor towards the engine room while Archangel went down another path.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carmen noticed that the Warden's current trajectory was heading straight for Paris, France. "She's trying to crash the ship." She muttered in shock.

Gunfire breaks her thoughts as Carmen looked back at Daugherty, noticing he had killed a Warrior. "Do what you have to do!" He told the Captain before focusing on another bug as he peppered it with his Morita.

The Warden's speed increased in the atmosphere as Carmen looked ready to panic. "I don't know what to do." She said quietly before she looks back and notices Trig's abandoned chest piece. She reaches for her com-link and tries to contact the A-01 sniper. "Trig, where are you now?" She received no answer. "Trig, location? Trig, come in. Trig, respond! Where are you, Trig?"

"Central storage area." Trig's voice came from the com-link.

* * *

Trig was crouched in the vents, her sniper set up as she heard the Captain's voice. "Have you found the queen?"

"Oh, yeah. This bitch is disgusting." She answered as she saw the queen through the scope of her rifle.

* * *

"Take her out." Carmen ordered.

"Done." Trig replied.

"We're running out of time. Do you read me?" The Captain questioned as she noticed that the ground was getting a bit closer.

* * *

"Loud and clear, Captain." Trig answered as she locked on to the queen before pulling the trigger, but the bullet trailed off, hitting the steel girders that surrounded the bug queen. The queen roared when she realized that she was nearly killed.

Trig tried to go for another shot but a Warrior blocked her line of sight. "Shit! In that case…" She started as she pulled the lever back, loading a new round into the chamber before taking aim at one of the control cables embedded in the queen. Once she fired, her aim hit right on the mark. Two of the cables were taken out.

* * *

Back on the bridge, Carmen struggled to try and lift the Warden up. When she noticed the screen giving her clearance, she had a slight relieved smile. "That's it." She said as she pulled the controls back causing the forward thrusters to ignite as the starship sailed over Paris and away from the city. Before she could continue on, the controls locked up. "No!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the storage area, the queen roared causing Trig to lightly gasp as Warriors made their way to her position. A few of their sharp legs tried to skewer the sniper but she crawled back to avoid them. She kicked a vent down and dropped.

As she reached for her rifle, Trig heard screeching to her right. "Shit!" She cursed as she quickly brought up her sniper rifle and fired a round, hitting the charging bug in its nerve stem all the while the female trooper rolled back. When another bug tried to get her, Trig ended its life by putting a high-powered round into it.

"439" Trig counted before she heard more screeching behind her before firing. "440" Her eyes soon took on a look of terror as the Warriors were too close for her to kill. Without thinking, she screamed before the sounds of rifle fire from a Morita Mk. 1 caused her to look back as she saw a black-red blur slam right into the surviving bug that was peppered with bullets.

The bug's assailant turned out to be Archangel, who held the Warrior's upper jaw with his left hand while stomping on its lower jaw with his foot. He brought his rifle to bear at the bug's eyes which seemed to have widened. "Die, you bug-filth piece of shit!" Archangel roared as he unleashed a full clip into the bug's face, green blood splattering on his armor.

More screeching from Warriors came up ahead as three of the bugs came to kill the two troopers.

Archangel brought up his Morita to fire but only heard a clicking sound, signaling that it was empty. "Fuck…" He quietly growled as he holstered his weapon his back before spreading his arms as two blades came out of his armguards. "Let's dance, bitches." Arc charged at the bugs, sliding under the lead before shoving his right arm blade under, gutting the bug.

The S-09 trooper ducked under a slash from a second Warrior's arm before cutting the offending appendage off with his left arm blade then stabbed the bug with both blades in its sides.

The last bug tried to collect Archangel in its jaws only for a hand and boot to keep them wide open. The black-red armored trooper had a feral grin behind his helmet as he slowly but surely ripped both of the bug's jaws off. The Warrior screeched in agony before it was silenced when Arc slammed both of the dismembered jaws onto the bug's sides, killing it.

With the last bug dead, Arc looked back at Trig with his helmet completely retracted. "Are you alright, Trig?" He asked.

The sniper looked at him as light tears spilled down her cheeks. "It really is you… I thought you looked familiar but it is you…" She said.

Arc smiled. "It's good to see you remember me… Tia." He said before Trig wrapped her arms around the young man's armored form.

"Why did you leave? I was so upset when you left." Trig quietly said as she tightened her hold on him.

"You know why… I wish I could have been there. I could have saved you, your parents, and my own if I knew the bugs planned to destroy our hometown." The S-09 trooper said.

"At least you're still alive… I don't know what I would do if my best friend died." Trig responded.

Archangel held the woman that was three years old than him in his arms. He didn't care about the mission right now, all he thought was him and his best friend reuniting.

"All hands prepare for impact!" Carmen ordered over the com.

* * *

"Magnetic stabilizers on!" Varro ordered his team.

* * *

"Trig, hold onto me!" Arc told his friend, who clutched to his form. Archangel's helmet resealed as he activated the magnetic stabilizers in his boots before he crouched down with Trig and held her close, shielding her from anything that might harm her.

The moment they braced, the Warden crashed into the earth, skidding across the ground as the troopers grunted in discomfort while bugs were thrown about and smashing into walls. When the ship stopped, all of its functions ceased.

* * *

On the bridge, Carmen was temporarily knocked unconscious before her eyes fluttered open. She sat in her seat, recollecting what happened as she reached for her com-link. "All hands, report." She received no answer. "Hero? Archangel? Anybody?" When she received no answer, the Captain lowered her hand believing that the troopers had perished.

Carmen heard a noise near the door and found Daugherty still crouched with his Morita at the door. The Captain stood up and walked over to the trooper. "Lieutenant…" She quietly addressed as she reached for his shoulder only for Daugherty's body to collapse on the side, dead. Carmen got on her knees and gave the deceased Lieutenant a silent prayer before lifting her head up, saying. "Thank you."

The Captain brought out her Vector handgun and walked out of the bridge, checking to see that none of the bugs were in sight. She continued onward, a guarded look on her face as she scanned the area for hostiles.

* * *

High in the Earth's atmosphere, a squad of troopers was gearing up for a drop.

"Rico, you're not a trooper anymore. Remember that." The Earth Defense Commander informed the General.

"I'm always a trooper." Rico reminded the Commander. "And if there are any of our men alive on that ship, I'm getting them out."

"Should've known you'd say that." The Commander said in a knowing tone. "Kill 'em any way you can. Kill 'em all!" He ordered.

As Rico boarded a Marauder Mk. 2 battle mech, he received a message from the Commander. "In T minus 30 we'll send nukes to sanitize that site. SO be out of there before we hit."

"Don't wait for me. If I'm not out in thirty, nuke it." Rico said before the covering on his Marauder sealed on his upper body.

* * *

Back on the Warden, Varro and his troopers were finishing off a group of bugs as the last few Warriors collapsed to the floor. Ice Blonde took point before a ball of plasma shot towards her. Holy Man took notice of it and called out. "Ice!" As he pushed the shocked trooper out of the way and took the hit himself.

The K-12 troopers opened fire on their comrade's attacker as Ice called out. "Holy Man!" She ran over to the wounded trooper while the others kept pouring lead onto their oppressors.

"What the hell kinda bug is that?" Bugspray questioned, not once releasing the trigger.

The new bug looked to be inverted in a way. A large sac probably filled with plasma was hanging over its short head. Four legs carried it while two small arms were attached to its head.

"Fuck me!" Ratzass exclaimed.

Ice checked on Holy Man to see if he was alright only for the religious trooper to place two fingers on his forehead then to her own, a tired grin on his face before he collapsed on his back, dead. "I was just starting to believe you." Ice quietly said.

"Fall back! Now!" Varro ordered as the new Plasma bugs fired two balls of blue plasma at Holy Man's body, rendering it nothing but a pile of smoking ashes while the rest of the troopers retreated.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Trig opened her eyes she felt Arc's protective embrace keep her safe. She smiled in thanks to the trooper before she felt something wet and warm drip on her shoulder. When she saw it, her eyes widened in horror when she realized that it was blood but not just any blood… it was Archangel's blood.

"Arc, are you-" Trig's words were caught in her throat as she gasped in horror at the wounds on her childhood friend.

Archangel's once pitch black armor was now stained red with his blood which dripped from four embedded Warrior arms in his back. His helmet fully retracted, revealing his face to her as a trickle of blood went down the corner of his lips. His smile still present as if he wasn't affected by the pain in his wounds at all. "It's nothing… merely a scratch."

"But… your injuries…" Trig started, unable to tear her eyes away from all the blood dripping down the S-09 trooper's back.

"I've had worse…" Arc reassured the woman as he stood up then began to tear out the arms embedded in his back. When the last one was dropped, Archangel brought out a small trauma kit and held out a can of bio-gel to Trig. "Mind putting this over my wounds. I might be a super soldier, but I can still die from blood loss."

The sniper nodded as she took the gel and began to apply the blue liquid into Archangel's injuries. The bio-gel acted as a way to seal injuries to prevent blood loss and knit damaged skin cells back together in only a few short hours.

When Trig had finished, Archangel brought his Morita out and loaded a fresh mag of ammo into the rifle. Trig recovered her sniper and pulled the pin back, chambering another bullet into the rifle.

"Let's go, I have a feeling that the others will be at the airlock." Arc stated as the two marched on.

* * *

Above Earth's atmosphere, a landing ship carrying a payload of six drop pods waited for the signal to drop.

"Troopers, our mission is to storm the wreck of the John A. Warden rescue our surviving men and kill every last son of a bitch bug we see." Rico informed his Marauder team. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" The Marauders answered in unison.

"We've got 25 minutes before they level that site. So move fast and remember… we're not fighting for some rock across the galaxy. We're fighting for our home!" Rico reminded the troopers, who took his words to heart. "Commence the attack!"

The landing ship soon dropped the pods in the atmosphere.

* * *

Back on the wreck of the Warden, Carmen continued on her path down the corridor before she noticed a ball of plasma heading her way causing her to dive away. The plasma came from one of the new Plasma bugs that screeched lowly, signaling it was after its new prey. Carmen quickly got up and ran with the Plasma bug following after her.

When Carmen came to a crossroad, she heard a voice whisper in her head. "Over here."

She looked at the left. "This way?" She wondered before she continued on, not wanting to question something she can't see when her life was in danger.

As Carmen continued running, the Plasma bug was gaining on her. The Captain soon stumbled and tripped as she tried to get up only to see the bug over her, readying its plasma sac to blast her to oblivion. Carmen covered her head, waiting for her inevitable end only for the sounds of Moritas and bullets impacting against a body then a thud.

When Carmen lifted her head, she saw Hero with his hand held out for her. The Captain took the gesture as Varro lifted her up. "Are you alright, Captain?" He asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." The Captain said in gratitude.

"Come on. Let's get to the airlock and get out of here." Hero said as he and the other troopers marched onward to the airlock.

Carmen looked around. "That voice…" She muttered before following after the rest of the troopers.

* * *

High in the sky, the six pods broke past the Earth's atmosphere and descended towards their target.

"Purging…" Rico started before he finished. "Now!"

Soon the pods shattered away as the six Marauders used their thrusters to slightly accelerate their descent. When the John A. Warden came into view, the laser cannons on the ship locked onto the Marauders and fired.

One of the shots hit a Marauder, destroying the suit and its occupant. Another shot hit a second Marauder as the mech fell to the earth like wreckage.

"Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?" Rico questioned his troopers as his own Marauder Mk. 2 lined up its missiles at the Warden's weapon system before firing. "Kill 'em all!"

The missiles soon struck one of the laser turrets, destroying the emplacement.

* * *

When the troopers arrived at the airlock, they were met with the sight of Archangel and Trig.

"About time, you bastards showed up." Archangel said with a grin.

"Well, we can't all be super soldiers." Ratzass retorted with a grin of his own as he and Arc clasped hands together like a couple of old friends.

Archangel looked around and found that Daugherty and Holy Man weren't around, meaning they didn't make it.

When Carmen tried to open the airlock doors they remained closed. "She still has the ship." The Captain informed Varro.

Hero took a few steps ahead before looking at Ice Blonde. "Ice, you and Trig guard the Captain. The rest of you are coming with me. We're gonna kill the queen and take back this ship."

While Hero, Bugspray, and Mech went on ahead, Ratzass retracted his helmet and looked at Ice. "Don't worry. You'll see your kids again soon. But those bugs? We're taking their momma down!" He stated with a grin.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are even acting your age." Archangel deadpanned.

"Go to hell." Ratzass retorted as the two followed after their comrades.

* * *

Outside, the surviving Marauders continued their descent as the Warden's laser cannons continued to fire, one narrowly struck a Marauder.

"Holy shit!" one of the Marauders exclaimed.

A laser struck one of the mechs, destroying them.

"Take evasive action!"

"Incoming!"

The Marauders readied their machine guns and opened fire as they continued to avoid the deadly red beams.

"Run and gun!"

Another Marauder burst into flames after being struck directly by a beam.

* * *

Meanwhile as Hero, Archangel, Bugspray, Ratzass, and Mech continued on to find the queen, Varro halted the movement. "Listen. It's the engine." He turned to the only surviving male A-01 trooper. "Mech, you still have explosives?"

"Some C4." Mech answered as Hero looked forward, a plan forming in his mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ice Blonde, Carmen, and Trig were backed against the door as they made their last stand, holding the bugs off for as long as they can until the others can succeed in killing the queen.

* * *

Elsewhere, Archangel, Hero, and Bugspray quickly ascended a fleet of stairs as the trio of troopers came upon the sight of Arc's small fight with the Warriors.

"We should be clear; I've dealt with the bugs here." Archangel informed his teammates as Bugspray moved up ahead only for a Warrior to drop from a beam as it slashed at the trooper deeply with its arm.

"No!" Archangel exclaimed as he and Hero fired at the bug, killing it.

"Ambush." Bugspray weakly said as he propped himself up, his helmet retracted as a pained expression crossed his facial features. Hero noticed that Bugspray's right thigh was badly slashed. He'd be unable to continue walking until they got him to a hospital. The three troopers noticed a couple Warriors were converging on their position. "Go, sir. I'll hold 'em off for as long as I can."

"Like hell, we're leaving you here!" Archangel retorted.

"My leg is completely fucked, I can't walk, and I'm losing blood. I'll only slow you guys down but I can buy you some time." Bugspray told the S-09 trooper.

Hero looked at his fellow K-12 and with a hidden look of regret continued on towards the central storage area with Archangel following, albeit reluctantly.

Bugspray looked at the charging bugs as a small grin etched its way to his face. "Looks like it's just you and me now, fuckers." He muttered as he brought his Morita up and opened fire.

* * *

When Hero and Archangel were a few yards away from the entrance to the storage area, a large group of bugs were blocking their path. The two troopers had their helmets retracted as they witness the swarm that was ready to tear them apart.

"Well, shit." Arc simply said in a deadpan-like tone. Soon enough, he and Varro opened fire on the group in front of them. The bugs rushed at them, ready to slice into their flesh as they didn't deter from some of their kin collapsing on the floor filled with bullet holes.

The two squad leaders pumped their grenade launchers on their rifles and fired, two explosive fragmentation rounds striking some of the bugs and killing a few. Another two-way volley eliminated some of the bugs at the front.

The explosives managed to thin the herd of Warriors but some surviving ones managed to come out of the smoke and made their way towards Archangel and Hero. The two troopers fired on the bugs once more before they had to reload their rifles.

When the bugs got too close, the unexpected happened… Warriors with yellow exoskeletons and the words 'FIB' on their sides attacked their kin.

"What the hell?" Hero wondered in slight surprise.

"Okay… what the fuck is going?" Archangel questioned in confusion.

"This is what I've been working on." A familiar voice said behind the two who is revealed to be Carl Jenkins with a communications headset.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carmen and the two remaining female troopers of A-01 backed against the door as the bugs started to get closer. When Carmen pulled the trigger, she realized that her Vector pistol wouldn't be able to stop the bugs for long.

"Carmen! Get down!" A familiar voice said over the intercom as Ice Blonde got Carmen and Trig against the wall, covering the two with her own body as an explosion sent the airlock doors forward, crashing into the bugs that were about to kill the three women.

When the smoke cleared, the three women stood up and noticed a Marauder Mk. 2 at the entrance of the once sealed airlock. The hatch on the battle mech opened to reveal Rico, who looked at the Captain and the two female troopers.

"Johnny." Carmen quietly said in relief as a small grin was etched on her face.

"Are there any other survivors?" Rico questioned.

"Five more. Heading to kill the queen." Ice Blonde answered.

"And…" Carmen started.

* * *

Back with Hero and Archangel, the two troopers were surprised by Carl's appearance.

"Jenkins. You're still alive?" Varro questioned in surprise.

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?" Archangel wondered in confusion.

"I can't die yet. Not until we win this war, at least." Carl said as the Federation Warrior bugs continued to slaughter its brethren.

"So, by controlling the bugs, you…" Varro started before Carl finished. "I can bring us one step closer to winning this war. And I can get you two close enough to kill the queen."

Varro looked at Carl for a few seconds before the edges of his mouth curled into a smirk. "Then let's get moving." He responded as he, Archangel, and Carl ran to the storage area with the Federation bugs advancing ahead.

The small group of FIB Warriors stopped in front of a gathered group of the queen's own Warrior bugs and Plasma bugs. Hero and Archangel aimed their Moritas at the large mass of flesh while Carl looked at it with his usual emotionless face.

"Damn… this bitch is ugly from here…" Arc muttered in disgust.

"Let's… negotiate." A raspy voice said as a Warrior walked in front of its brethren, carrying a corpse of a trooper with its upper jaw ripped through the trooper's abdomen and its arms embedded directly in his brain.

"Daugherty?" Hero wondered in slight shock.

"Now that is messed up." Archangel said while internally fuming that the bugs would disrespect his fellow trooper's corpse like that. The two squad leaders readied their Moritas for what may come.

"Surrender Jenkins to us and we will let you live." The bug controlling Daugherty's corpse demanded.

"Yeah, like we'd believe the word of a bug." Arc quietly said, glaring at the Warrior holding the A-01 leader's corpse.

"They fear me." Jenkins told the two.

Varro looked back slightly. "Maybe they just think you're an asshole." He joked which brought a small amused grin on Carl's face. "Fuck off." Hero told the bug.

"Then you die!" The bug said in anger.

Hero and Archangel responded by firing on the bug while the FIB Warriors charged at the other bugs. While the two sets of Warrior bugs fought, the new breed of Plasma bugs fired on them. The balls of blue light struck the FIB bugs, killing all of them while Archangel, Hero, and Jenkins got into cover.

"These were the last ones I could control directly for now. If I could've finished my research…" Carl started.

"Then finish it." Varro intersected causing Carl to look at him. "So we can end this." He continued firing back at the bugs. "Archangel, make sure you keep Jenkins safe."

"But you'll die if I leave you here!" Arc retorted while simultaneously killing a Warrior that got a little too close.

"I knew what I signed up for." Varro stated. "Run." Archangel looked conflicted before Hero looked back. "I said, run!" He shouted.

Carl took off with Archangel following after him as Hero provided cover fire for the two as the bugs advanced on the K-12 leader's position.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bugspray loaded his last ammo clip into his Morita Mk. 1 as he continued firing on the bugs in short bursts to conserve as much ammo as he can but the blood loss was beginning to tire him out.

Just as he was about to kill the next Warrior, his reaction was slowed due to his blood loss and the bug took this chance to slash Bugspray as the bug continued on as the K-12 trooper's body collapsed on the floor, his throat cut wide open as he bled out then all he saw was the forms of the Warriors heading towards the storage area.

"It's up to you now… Hero…" Bugspray said weakly before all he saw was darkness.

* * *

While Jenkins and Archangel ran to the airlock, a Warrior came out of nowhere and was about to skewer the two.

"Carl!" A familiar voice called out as a Marauder Mk. 2 activated its buzzsaw and boosted past the two as it cut the Warrior bug in half. The Marauder skidded to a stop as the hatch lifted up to reveal Rico.

"Johnny Rico." Carl said.

The Marauder lowered its left arm down while Rico glared at Carl. "I should leave your ass here to get nuked." He said.

Carl climbed onto the Marauder's arm while Archangel hopped onto its shoulders.

"What do you mean 'nuked'?" Carl questioned.

"Is this really the time?" Arc asked in a deadpanned tone.

"Let's go." Rico said as his Marauder boosted towards the location of the airlock.

* * *

At the airlock, Carmen radioed the General. "Johnny, the landing ship is here." She said as the Marauders' landing ship approached.

"I'm coming!" Rico responded on the radio.

As the ship prepared for landing, one of the surviving Marauders began to guide the landing ship in. Carmen, Ice Blonde, and Trig had relieved looks on their faces. Their relief was soon over when the John A. Warden's loading crane activated and smashed the landing ship, sending it crashing into the ground and destroying the last of Rico's Marauder team.

As Rico's own Marauder made it to the airlock, he noticed the horrified looks on Carmen, Ice Blonde, and Trig. "Where's the ship?" He questioned.

Carmen shook her head, making the General realize what had happened. The gathered humans soon looked up to see four nukes descending towards their position.

"Ah, hell…" Archangel muttered with wide eyes.

Before the nukes could even make it to the ship, the Warden's laser cannons destroyed the four nukes. A brilliant explosion began in Earth's atmosphere.

"They took out the nuke." Carmen said as the Warden's remaining airlocks opened, releasing Warriors onto Terra as the bug invasion began. "She… she's won."

Trig and Ice Blonde had begun to lose hope, Archangel clutched his fist in hidden anger, and Rico looked as if he had failed.

"I still have one." Carl said out of the blue.

"One what?" Rico asked looking at the psychic.

"The shuttle I used to evacuate from Fort Casey." Carl answered.

"Then let's use it!" Ice Blonde said in urgency.

"She'll never let us leave." Carmen countered.

"We can't just let it end like this! We can still kill that oversized bitch and end this invasion!" Archangel said with a furious look in his eyes.

The group soon heard gunfire from behind them as Ice Blonde, Trig, and Archangel readied their weapons only for it to be revealed as Mech and Ratzass after the latter finished off a bug with his Gatling gun attachment.

"You son of a bitch." Ice Blonde said in general happiness in seeing the K-12 trooper.

Ratzass lightly cooed a bit. "Now that's not nice." He said in amusement. "Tell 'em." He motioned to Mech.

"I set explosives on the main engine." Mech told the group.

"What?" Carmen said in confusion.

* * *

 _Flashback – Half an hour ago_

" _Mech, you still have explosives?" Hero asked._

" _Some C4." The explosives expert replied._

" _Good. If we put C4 in the main engine, we can blow up the ship and the queen with it." Hero explained his plan, causing Bugspray, Ratzass, and Mech to look at him in shock while Archangel nodded in understanding._

" _What? Whoa." Mech leaned in a bit close to Varro. "We might not make it out in time."_

 _Hero glanced at Mech. "At least they won't." He said._

 _Mech looked a bit conflicted before nodding. "Okay."_

" _Then do it." Hero ordered as Mech made a beeline towards the engine room. "Ratzass, watch his back."_

" _Yes, sir." Ratzass said as he followed after the explosives expert._

* * *

 **Present**

"So the extraction team's been wiped out?" Ratzass questioned.

Archangel hopped back onto the Marauder while Rico muttered. "Just ten minutes left." His battle mech's hatch closed as he moved the Marauder.

"Johnny, what are you doing?" Carmen questioned.

"Get to the shuttle." Rico ordered.

"We're going to end the queen once and for all." Archangel told them.

"What… But, Arc, you can't-" Trig started in fear of losing her best friend. "Tia, please… Rico and I have to finish this… We're the only ones who can." Archangel finished as he gave the woman one last grin before the Marauder ignited its boosters and took off.

"Johnny!" Carmen called out to the speeding Marauder.

"Let's go." Carl said as he walked forward. "Follow me." He said as he led the group to the shuttle.

* * *

Meanwhile the Marauder and its two passengers boosted towards their destination but a group of bugs blocked their way. The battle mech engaged its chainguns as the armor-piercing rounds tore through the Warriors like paper.

One of the bugs jumped onto the Marauder but Rico brought up its buzzsaw and cut through the bug's body, sending body parts behind it. The bug's assault had a slight hindrance to Rico as his HUD was damaged by the Warrior's interference.

"Shit!" The General cursed as he forcefully removed his hatch, cascading it to the ground. The Marauder continued on as gunfire was heard in the storage area.

Rico stopped as bugs blocked his and Archangels way before gunfire drew their attention to see the lone trooper fighting off many Warriors.

"Are you Varro?" Rico questioned.

Varro continued firing his Morita, ignoring the pain from a broken Warrior's limb in his back and thigh as well as the loss of his left arm. "Yes, sir. Where's Jenkins?" He asked.

"He's safe." Rico told the injured man.

A Warrior snatched Hero up in its jaws, taking him down to the ground.

"Varro!" Rico called out.

Hero landed on his back, releasing a pained groan as he brought up a grenade. "Good." A tired smile appeared on his face. "Make sure he keeps everyone else that way." He said as he activated the detonator and was soon consumed in the explosion along with any bugs that were around him.

Rico narrowed his eyes along with Archangel as he fired the boosters in his Marauder, releasing battle cries as the Plasma bugs fired on them while Warriors charged. A shot managed to hit the Marauder's left arm, rendering it useless but Rico brought up the other arm and unleashed a load of bullets onto the bugs. The armor-piercing rounds killed the attacking bugs before it ran dry.

Rico gritted his teeth as he hoisted himself on top of his Marauder as he and Archangel readied themselves to jump. The Plasma bugs charged up to fire another salvo of plasma before the pilotless Marauder crashed into them and exploded while Rico and Archangel jumped towards the queen; Rico unsheathing his knife while Arc cascaded his rifle as his wrist blades sprouted out.

Before the two could attack, the queen's limps grabbed Rico and knocked Archangel to the wall as another limb held the S-09 trooper down. Rico struggled while the queen roared as she opened her mouth, revealing a long appendage that was ready to impale straight through Rico's brain. Before the queen could kill the General, he activated the release locks on his power armor. The armor parts on his bodysuit purged themselves as Rico flipped onto the queen's pincer as he grabbed his knife and ran full speed at the queen, releasing a battle cry as he buried his knife to the hilt in the queen's eye.

Archangel took this chance to cut the limb holding him and used his leg boosters to jump towards the queen. "RAHHH!" He roared as buried both of his wrist blades into another of the queen's eyes, eliciting another pained roar from the bug.

The two dropped onto the ground as Archangel recovered his rifle. The queen's pained roars ringing in their ears as Warriors converged on their position.

"General, get to the shuttle… I'll buy you as much time as I can." Arc said as he chambered in a new round.

Rico looked at Archangel for a second before nodding and sprinted off towards the shuttle.

The S-09 trooper looked at the gathered group of bugs, ready to tear him limb from limb. "Alright, you bastards…" He muttered as he brought up his Morita while a feral grin appeared on his face then he played a music track in his helmet. "Let's party!" He shouted as his helmet enveloped his head as he fired his Morita at the bugs.

A few of the bugs broke off from the group and followed after Rico.

The ones that were fighting Archangel… ended up realizing they were facing one of Mankind's Grim Reapers.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carmen noticed the controls in the shuttle had been unlocked. "They did it." She whispered in awe.

"59 seconds." Mech informed the Captain on how much time was left on the bombs.

Carmen gasped as she looked at Mech and Carl. "Where are Johnny and Archangel?"

* * *

Said trooper was sprinting for his life as four Warriors chased him. Just as one was about to reach him, a sniper round slammed into its nerve stem, courtesy of Trig while Ratzass and Ice Blonde gave the General covering fire.

Soon after, Rico along with Ratzass, Ice Blonde, and Trig entered the shuttle. Johnny, a bit out of breath, went to Carmen's side. "Captain, take us home." He told her.

"Aye-aye, sir." Carmen said.

"Wait, where's Arc?" Trig questioned.

"Don't worry about me; just get your asses out of here. I'll find my own ride off this thing." Archangel's voice reassured them on the shuttle's com-link.

"You better be alive after this, Commander." Carmen said in a scolding manner.

"Please, this is me we're talking about. I always come back." Archangel said before a screech was heard on the other line. "Gotta go, the locals are getting crazy."

Carmen soon hit the ignition as the shuttle took off and left the wreckage of the Warden.

Ice Blonde looked over at Mech. "You gonna do it or what?"

The African-American looked at the timer on his gauntlet before holding up three fingers then counted down. "Three, two, one…" He pumped his fist. "Boom."

The John A. Warden soon exploded in a fiery blaze, consuming the queen and any bugs that managed to escape out to invade Earth. The shockwave shook the shuttle as it attempted an emergency landing, using the small thrusters at the nose of the small ship as it shook up its passengers inside.

When the shuttle stopped, the survivors disembarked and watched the burning wreckage from atop a hill.

"I thought the good guys and the hot girls always survived in the end." Ratzass said.

"No, not all of 'em." Ice Blonde shook her head as a sad expression appeared on her face.

"Here's to the dead." Mech started.

Ice Blonde, Mech, Ratzass, and Trig raised their weapons up. "And to the next man to die!" They said in unison.

Carl looked at the wreckage before he turned to look at his old friends only to be slapped by an angry Carmen Ibanez. "I hope you feel better." He said, seemingly unaffected by stinging pain on his cheek.

"Do you realize that you not only destroyed my ship and killed my crew, but you also put the entire planet at risk for infestation?" Carmen questioned as her glare intensified.

"My apologies for your loss. But my research is going to save an entire galaxy." Carl stated before pausing. "Just like I saved you."

Carmen looked at Carl in realization. "It was you. You told me how to find Hero."

"Well, that's classified." Carl said with a grin. "You see, nothing can stop us when the three of us are working together."

"Are we, Carl?" Rico questioned.

The psychic looked at the General. "Pardon?" He asked.

"Are we? Working together?" Rico repeated.

"Cheer up, Johnny. You're a hero." Carl said with a small smirk.

"No. No, I'm not." Rico corrected as he looked back at the wreckage. "But I met one."

The three along with the troopers looked at the wreckage before they caught sight of a landing ship flying towards them.

* * *

 **A few minutes before the destruction of the Warden**

Archangel was finishing off the last of the bugs in the storage area as he was covered in the blood of Warriors. His black-red armor was now glistening with green bug fluids before he wiped some off his helmet.

"Disgusting…" He muttered before he heard more screeches from behind. "Shit!" He cursed as he removed his spent ammo clip and reached to grab another but found out that he didn't have any more. "Double shit!" He cursed again as he tossed his gun away and sprinted away from the bugs.

* * *

As he raced against the clock, Archangel found the vehicle bay and it was loaded with experimental battle vehicles, tanks, and various other vehicles.

"Where is it…? I know they had it… There you are!" Arc exclaimed as he found a tarp-covered vehicle. When he removed it, a big grin etched itself behind his face.

It was an experimental battle motorcycle for hit and run maneuvers. The streamlined, expansive form of the chopper exhibited a long front suspension with a feet forward pedal and seating position. There was a low emission side to the modernistic system. The motorcycle was endowed with two sturdy yet small electric hub motors that accentuate the lowering of the center of gravity. On the sides of the motorbike was a pair of twin auto cannons with small missile launchers at the front of the wheels. The bike was codenamed 'Panther' due to its sleek black coloring along with the neon yellow headlights.

Getting on the bike, Arc revved the Panther to life before kicking the kickstand up then drove faster than any form of animal on the planet.

"This is gonna be close!" Arc shouted as he drove past many Warriors before he saw light up ahead. "Home free-" He was cut off when an explosion rang throughout the entire ship.

The C4 in the ship had exploded in a fiery blaze with said blaze following after the S-09 trooper.

"Oh shit!" Arc exclaimed as he revved the bike and drove faster. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Soon enough, Archangel soon drove out of the ship and sped as fast as he can before flames and smoke covered him.

* * *

 **On the countryside of Paris [1 Hour after Warden's destruction]**

In a normal looking farmhouse, Francis Pierre, a farmer born with American and French heritage, was a former Mobile Infantry trooper that retired after serving for ten years. During those years, he met his wife, Angela, who was also in the Mobile Infantry as well. They both served in the same unit and fell in love with each other in the first three years they've met each other.

They married on Earth and Angela had birthed two children, a boy named Ethan and a girl named Elizabeth. The couple had Ethan on their third year in the Mobile Infantry and Francis felt it best for his wife to be at stationary positions on Earth or colony planets that were out of reach for the bugs in order to help raise their son while he fought to help support his family. When the two met again after Francis's tour of four years, Angela was pregnant with Elizabeth nine months when he returned. After the next three years in their tour of duty, the couple retired and owned a nice farmhouse in Paris.

* * *

Currently, Francis was harvesting wheat while he could hear seven year old Ethan playing with his three year old sister, Elizabeth. Francis smiled at hearing their giggles and laughs while he could vaguely smell his wife cooking breakfast.

Inwardly, Francis frowned since early in the morning, he and Angela witnessed a Federation starship crash off into the outskirts of the city. While it was a bit worrying about what happened to the ship, they could do nothing about it but wait for the proper authorities to handle the situation before the explosions came.

It took all of his willpower and his wife's soothing counsel that prevented Francis from grabbing the old SPAZ-12 shotgun his great-great grandfather used in during his time and storm up there to see what was happening.

Wiping a bead of sweat off his brow, he gathered the morning harvest and trekked back towards the house before he noticed his children run up to him.

"Papa, why is there a black giant at our barn?" Ethan asked, pointing to the red barn a few yards from his home.

"Black giant?" Francis questioned in confusion.

"It was scawy…" Elizabeth said, holding her brother's hand in fear.

Francis narrowed his eyes as his MI training kicked in. "Ethan, take your sister, go back to the house, and tell your mother to come out with my gun." He told his son.

The boy nodded as he took his sister back to the house while Francis quickly scampered over to the barn doors and pressed his ear against the wood. He could faintly hear someone breathing in there.

"Francis!" His wife, Angela, called out to him quietly as she tossed him the shotgun which he caught in reflex.

"Angela, stay behind me… I don't know what's in the barn but I'm not letting it near our kids." Francis promised quietly as he slowly opened the barn doors while bringing up his gun.

When the two entered inside, they could see there was a hole in the back of the barn and a strange motorcycle with military grade equipment before they noticed the black figure that had collapsed on the ground. The sight caused the couple to gasp in shock at who the figure was.

It was a Mobile Infantry trooper wearing black armor that had red details on various parts on the armor. His helmet was gone, either retracted or destroyed, revealing a mess of raven black hair and showed a bit of pale flesh. The sight that really shocked them was the injuries. The trooper, who they could guess was male, had multiple pieces of large shrapnel embedded in his back and holes in his armor that looked like bug-related injuries. Crimson blood pooled around him as his shallow breaths were getting more haggard.

"Angela, call an ambulance, this soldier needs medical attention!" Francis quickly told his wife in urgency which she followed the order immediately as she ran back to the house.

Francis was by the trooper's side in seconds as he removed the large pieces of shrapnel in his back then turned the trooper on his back before gasping when he saw how… young… the trooper really was. He forgoes the thought as he focused on stemming the bleeding.

"I don't know who you are kid and I'm pretty sure you've must have gone through some kinda hell… but I'm not letting a fellow trooper die on me." Francis swore as he pressed his hands onto the trooper's wounds.

He heard the young man groaning as the trooper's eyes fluttered open but only halfway. It allowed Francis to see the crimson red orbs of the young man's pupils. "W… W… Who are… you?" The trooper asked weakly.

Francis rolled up his left sleeve and showed his MI tattoo from when he still served during his tour. "Former Master Sergeant Francis Pierre." He answered.

"Commander… Archangel of S-09." Archangel responded before his eyes shut into unconsciousness.

"Well, Commander… I don't know if someone told you this… but you look like shit." Francis stated as he could hear sirens from the ambulance on their way to his home as Angela came to his side and helped stem the bleeding on Archangel.

"What do you think is going to happen to him?" Angela asked in concern.

"I don't know… but I get the feeling this guy is gonna be seeing a lot more crazy things than just bugs." Francis answered as the paramedics entered the barn and began to transport the trooper to an emergency hospital.

* * *

 **AN: Holy shit that was long. Well, that's the last chapter of the John A. Warden arc. Next chapter will be the introduction of Sigma 09 and the mission to an unknown star system with a race of anthromorphic animals.**

 **Anyways, I'm shipping off to Basic in October so if I haven't posted anything in six or seven months after it then that means I'm still training. Don't worry, I'm not gonna forget about this at all, I'll just be taking a temporary leave of absence.**

 **Also, like I said, I'll be putting up the info sheets on the members of Sigma as well as those kind enough to share.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	4. Character Sheet! NOT A CHAPTER!

**Hey, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the character sheet for the OC troopers of Sigma 09.**

* * *

 **S-09 Character Sheet:**

* * *

 **Name:** David Walker

 **Call Sign:** Rex

 **Rank:** Captain

 **Age:** 19

 **Appearance:** Looks like an older Allen Walker but with a Char Aznable style haircut and with brown hair and light blue eyes.

 **Power Armor:** He wears a power suit colored white and blue with an antenna on the right side of his helmet which also acts as a targetting device system with different sights and it also has two pistol holsters on the hips. Basically it almost looks like Captain Rex's armor but without the paldron and kama but with the holsters.

 **Equipment:** The weaponry he carries is 1 Morita Mk I rifle with grenade launcher, 2 Vector CT1 pistols, 4 grenades, and 2 combat knives which can punch through an Arachnids armor.

 **Personality:** Calm in battle, aggressive at times, flirtatious when not in combat, honorable, and compassionate

 **Background:** Most of David's background is classified but he is a skilled leader with a kill count of 523 bugs when he was only a rookie Sergeant and was stuck with only using two pistols and when he down to just 8 men with 3 wounded. By the time backup got to them they found him and his squad surrounded by dead bugs and every decided to start calling him Rex due to him using only pistols during the battle almost like in Star Wars with Captain Rex using his pistols all the time. David was promoted to Captain a month later and was assigned to Sigma Zero Nine along with Commander Chris Alder where the two hated each other's guts until a mission where David pushed Chris out of the way of a Warrior Bug and ended up getting stabbed in the chest but thankfully he was able to recover a week later and both David and Chris became friends after that where the two began fighting side by side. David has a reputation of bringing back his men no matter the cost and even threatened to be hanged but with each threat they gave him if he disobeyed orders they were instantly dropped when with each time bringing back valuable information or destroying something important to the bugs like a nest or one time stuffing a grenade in the mouth of a brain bug as he felt his head was about to explode.

 **Submitter:** Nexus Gundam

* * *

 **Name:** Henry Alderete

 **Call Sign:** Reaper

 **Age:** 19

 **Sex:** Male

 **Rank:** Captain

 **Hair Color/Style:** black and hairstyle is somewhat a bit messy but at the same time spiky

 **Eye Color:** Onyx

 **Appearance:** Average build, calm eyes showing he has seen death too many times for anyone to count, Caucasian skin

 **Personality:** Often quiet, calm, and collected. When it comes to bugs he is always accurate on how to kill. When a trooper dies, he leaves a slant mark on his gun, counting the soldiers that died alongside him. He may look young but he acts very mature despite his age. Some say he is the Reaper of Space due to him killing the Bugs in many ways possible. He also is considered cute to the female troopers, he doesn't know why though.

 **Power Armor:** armor is same as all the troopers, skull like decal on his helmet (Like Emile's from Halo: Reach) his armor is black and gray with silver streaks

 **Weapon:** Morita Mk. 1

 **History:** A soldier who had a brother who died in combat from the bugs. He joins at a young age to kill the bugs and his call sign came around when some troopers some him kill bugs in ways they think it was impossible (like using one's own leg to stab itself). He fights kills every bug he sees.

 **Submitter:** ShadowBladeKnight

* * *

 **Name:** Wade Nilsson

 **Call Sign:** Ghost

 **Age:** 19

 **Sex:** Male

 **Rank:** Lieutenant

 **Hair Color/Style:** Black, buzzed down.

 **Eye Color:** Very green, almost like their growing.

 **Appearance:** Wade is about 6.4 foot tall, slender body but packed with muscle, appearance wise, he looks Japanese but with a hint of Caucasian. He can be easy identified by the scars on his face, one scar on his lip, one down his left eye, another on his cheek.

 **Personality:** Wade doesn't talk all that much, preferring to talk only when needed, also doesn't appear to be very social, though that doesn't mean he isn't friendly, he'll hear you out, listen what you gotta say. He also seems to have a big hate for cowards who leave their comrades behind, he's very big on brotherhood and friendship, also hates those who pick on the weak.

 **Power Armor:** Looks almost just like your typical Power Armor use by Mobile Infantry, but it's colored a darker shade of black, almost dark as night, and the helmet has two markings that look like red eyes on the visor. On his chest there are words in red say "Bug killer".

 **Weapon:** Morita Mk. I Rifle; equipped with a very sharp knife on it, two pistols, and his two favorite weapons are two very sharp kukris knives.

 **History:** Wade grew up on Earth, Canada, he was alone most of his life, didn't knew his parents, was force to become a theft in order to survive, even do street fighting. But that all changed when a Mobile Infantry soldier on shore leave had found him, Eddie Priest. Eddie took Wade in and raised him like a son, teaching all about what it means be a soldier.

Wade eventually was able join the Mobile Infantry, impressing many officers thanks to his training with Eddie. It wasn't long before Wade finally saw action in the war; he earned his share of scars. Tragedy struck Wade when his entire squad got wiped out in a ambush by the Bugs, Wade was the only survivor and was the one who was forced to watch his squad mates get ripped apart as he was bleeding out.

He was lucky that another squad got him out of there. He was given the rank Lieutenant after that for surviving, he always hated that though, his still haunted for what happened that day. Wade still serves in the army today.

 **Submitter:** Mandalore the freedom

* * *

 **Name:** Ashley Ven

 **Call Sign:** Rain

 **Age:** 22

 **Sex:** Female

 **Rank:** Staff Sergeant

 **Hair Color/Style:** Dark Brown with blue dye that looks like rain drops, it's shoulder length, tiled in a pony tail.

 **Eye Color:** Dark Brown

 **Appearance:** African American, about same height as Ice Blonde, dark skin. She has some tattoos on her face with raindrops on her cheeks, yellow in color. She's in very good shape, about same as Ice Blonde.

 **Personality:** Ashley can be very blunt when it comes to words, she'll openly asked if someone were sleeping with each other if it was a normal topic, but she's very protective of her teammates, making sure they're alright.

 **Power Armor:** Same as most Power Armor given to soldiers, but on the chest, has symbol of a hawk on it. Colored light blue with yellow details.

 **Weapon:** The Morita Mk I Rifle, been color with words "Death to all bugs", also a tomahawk for close up fighting.

 **History:** Ashley grew up on a colony near where most of the fighting in the war, her home eventually became another battleground for the bugs, she and her little brother were only ones who left there alive. She was filled with rage and joined the Mobile Infantry, hoping take revenge against the bugs, her little brother Mark, also joined with them but a different unit.

 **Submitter:** Mandalore the freedom

* * *

 **Name:** Trent Boyled

 **Call Sign:** Ripper

 **Age:** 23

 **Sex:** Male

 **Rank:** Corporal

 **Hair Color/Style:** Red hair, short and little messy.

 **Eye Color:** Orange, the very look of his eyes just seem like it's holding a cage beast inside.

 **Appearance:** His Caucasian, standing same height as Wade, pale skin. Half his face is actually burn off, so he wears piece of metal cover that spot. He has a tattoo on his back, showing skull with flames behind it.

 **Personality:** Trent is a tricky one to figure out, he's very much like Grimmjow from Bleach but not as cocky, very bloodthirsty when it comes to fighting bugs, only thing that'll snap out of his blood lust is if his teammates are in danger, also respects the strong, reasons why he's shown some level of respect to Chris Alder.

 **History:** Trent grew up in Russia; he was part of a long line of military soldiers, from the Red Army to the Federation. But his parents were killed in a car crash when he was 14, forcing him to be raised by his bastard uncle who would beat him, causing him to become a very gruff person. He joined the Mobile Infantry to get away from him.

Trent however while fighting bugs, had half his face burned when an explosive erupted near him, now the right side of his face is nothing more then burned flesh and bone, and his rage kept growing since then for the bugs.

 **Submitter:** Mandalore the freedom

* * *

 **Name:** Alexandra Horinek

 **Call Sign:** Vixen

 **Age:** 24

 **Rank:** Lance Corp.

 **Hair Color/Style:** Black; down to middle of her back

 **Eye Color:** Gold

 **Appearance:** 5' 9" well toned B-cup breasts with black fur with silver glove and sock fur on hands and feet plus tail tip. Has a small muzzle with her lips outlined in silver with thin silver fur around her eyes.

 **Personality:** Level headed and quick thinking. Known to be good at just about anything from weapons to tech. Hates being called 'furball'.

 **Power Armor:** Light type that is pure black with silver highlighting. Decal of a black fox with twin swords behind it.

 **Weapon:** Twin long swords, Morita shotgun, Vector hand cannon, and Morita DMR.

 **History:** Signed up for a new trooper program that used animal DNA to help boost the troopers abilities. Turned out to be that one in a billion that could turn anthro, but has also killed more bugs then any trooper can count. Family killed by big meteor and has been fighting to stop them so others don't have a living nightmare.

 **Submitter:** Knightwolf1875

* * *

 **Name:** Shinn Hibiki

 **Call Sign:** Oni

 **Age:** 17

 **Sex:** Male

 **Rank:** Master Sergeant

 **Hair Color/Style:** Pale Blue; shoulder length with two braids near his face

 **Eye Color:** Aqua Blue

 **Appearance:** Roughly 5'10; tanned skin; Japanese facial features; small scar the corner of his lip

 **Personality:** Shy, outgoing, and quiet at most times with other people even his own squadmates. During a mission, he is calm, collected, and willing to take any initiative to complete his task. Has a habit of eating a little too many sweets.

 **Power Armor:** Bulkier shoulder guards and shin guards; has a black demon face on the helmet with the Kanji for 'oni' on his right shoulder guard colored in red; colored red and laced with black details on the forearms, knees, and shoulder guards

 **Weapon:** Morita Mk. 1 with Gatling gun attachment, Vector handgun, prototype laser whip, and boot knives

 **History:** Not much is known about Shinn only that he was brought into Sigma when Chris Alder discovered him in a bug hive or at least the aftermath of a bug hive. His prowess and willingness to take risks during battles was what made the Top Brass transfer him over to Archangel's command.

When he first met the team, he was shy and didn't know how to react but Archangel welcomed him into their little 'family'. Since then, Shinn saw the Commander as an older brother figure and the other members as his siblings.

Along the lines, he harbored feelings for Vixen but didn't know how to express them since he had never socialized before.

He got his call sign after massacring an entire bug hive on his own and when asked his personal intake on why he was there, he simply said "Because it's fun to kill bugs."

 **Submitter:** New Vegaz

* * *

 **AN: There's the squad and once more, I'd like to thank those who took their time to send me their OCs.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	5. Chapter 4

**How's it going, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter in Sigma 09.**

 **Anyways, in this chapter I'm introducing the rest of Sigma as well as the journey to the Lylat System.**

 **Let's get this party started… BEGIN!**

* * *

 **Starship Troopers: Sigma 09**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Sigma! Journey to Lylat!**

* * *

 **March 16, 2305; Paris National Hospital [containing Commander Archangel of S-09]**

Bleary eyes began to weakly open as crimson red orbs scanned the room he was in.

'Judging by the pure white room, the medical curtains, and the fact that I'm wearing a hospital gown means that I must be in a hospital room.' Arc thought as he sat up before noticing he had guests.

"How are you feeling, Commander?" The voice of Rico asked from the foot of his bed where he, Carmen, Carl, Trig, Ice Blonde, Mech, and Ratzass stood around along with a nurse.

"In all honesty…" Archangel started before looking at the gathered group. "Like hammered shit that went through the grinder then got nuked in several different ways, but other than that I feel quite spiffy."

"Who the fuck says that anymore?" Ratzass questioned.

"Shut up, Ratzass." Archangel deadpanned.

"Anyways, you gave us quite a scare in the last few days." Carmen said, interrupting a near squabble.

Arc was silent for a few moments. "How long was I out?" He asked.

"About a week. Trig never left your side when she found out you were here." Ice Blonde answered.

"I see… Did any bugs survive the explosion?" Arc questioned.

"Search teams scoured the entire area but didn't find any bugs alive only their charred carcasses." Mech replied.

"While all this is good, I believe I must speak with the Commander…" Carl interjected before turning to the others. "In private."

"What? Why should we leave him alone with-" Trig questioned before Rico silenced her. "Alright, Carl, you can talk with him, after all… the Federation needs him _and_ his team."

"I won't take long." Jenkins said as the others began to leave except for Trig, who held Archangel's hand.

"I'll be alright, Tia. Wait outside with the others." Arc reassured his best friend.

Trig had a worried expression but nodded in acceptance. "If you say so…" She muttered as she left the room as well.

After they left, Arc turned to Jenkins with a serious expression on his face. "Alright, what is it you wanted to tell me, Jenkins."

"Straight to the point as always…" Carl muttered before getting serious as well. "Tell me, Commander, have you ever been to another star system?"

"Once or twice, yes, but what does this have to do with me?" Archangel questioned.

"Well… have you ever been to a star system where there was intelligent life besides ourselves and the bugs?" Carl changed the question.

"Uh… No. Why, did you find something?" Arc asked in confusion.

"Yes, a few years ago back in the late 2200s, PSICOM sent out thousands of space probes each equipped with small warp drives that would take them to assigned coordinates in separate star systems untouched by humans and bugs. Well, we received images from one of those probes of other life." Carl explained.

"And you want me to go to this star system along with my team." Chris theorized.

"Along with additional Mobile Infantry forces with the survivors of the John A. Warden incident being under your command as well." Carl added in.

"That'll be hard considering my team and I don't have a ship anymore along with Captain Ibanez." Arc said.

"Not a problem. General Rico will be supplying Captain Ibanez with a prototype starship with a new warp drive capable of going light years beyond even our own solar system. He'll also supply you with the latest in weapons and armor technology along with the new prototype Marauder Mk. 3 battle machines." Jenkins reviewed to Archangel.

"Okay… I'm getting interested." Chris grinned.

"Well, the new power armor your team will be given is considered to be our most advanced form of armor yet… though it was rather expensive to make." The psychic said with a grimace.

"How so?" The S-09 leader wondered.

"Well, other than the newly discovered metal we've named Synthonium, a lightweight and virtually tougher source of material that we've mixed with an element in Africa called Vibranium. We've ran the simulations and it seems that when mixed with Synthonium, is able to withstand blows from virtually any form of attack whether it be lasers, plasma, or a bug's teeth. Added to the additions that increase a soldier's natural strength from the old armor, this new form of elemental mixtures can make a normal trooper faster, stronger, and even tougher by mere superhuman levels. We've also added a prototype shield generator that will bounce off any projectile weaponry. Should it deplete, you must simply wait a few seconds and the shields shall recharge." Carl verified to Arc.

Archangel's eyes seemed to widen in shock at the fact the new armor his team will possess will basically make them nigh invincible. "So when do we leave?" He asked.

"By the end of next month until then you and the rest of your team are off-duty as of now. I'd take this time to enjoy Earth as much as possible since it is likely that you won't be able to see it for a good long while." Carl said before he left the room.

Archangel lied in his bed before looking onto a counter with a bouquet of flowers and a get well card. He smiled at the sight of the flowers. His serious expression came back as he tapped his ear for the hidden communicator he kept on his person. He typed in a secret code and waited for the line to pick up.

"Bring forth the light…" A voice said on the other line.

"…And in the darkness be our guide." Archangel finished.

"About time we'd hear from you again, Commander." The voice on the other line said in amusement.

"Well, Captain, we have a mission coming up by the end of April so get the rest of Sigma together… I think it's time for a little R&R party." Arc said with a grin.

"Roger that, Commander. Should I also invite those new guys joining us?" The voice asked.

"Of course, after all they need a new team." Arc answered. "So what better team than ours?" His grin grew almost feral.

"I'll get the papers signed, Commander." The voice said.

"Excellent. Oh and be sure to give the team my regards until I come back, Rex." Archangel said.

"Will do, Alder." Rex answered.

Chris ceased the transmission before looking out the window, giving him a view of all of Paris. "I guess I should take in the sights while I still can… It'll be a long time before I can see Terra again…"

* * *

 **April 5, 2305; Fort Obama, Massachusetts [remaining members of A-01 and K-12 assigned to S-09]**

After Chris was discharged from the hospital, he along with Trig, Ice Blonde, Mech, and Ratzass were on their way to the barracks which contained Archangel's team.

"Can't believe we're apart of Sigma now." Mech said in disbelief.

"Believe it, man, we're basically badass supermen now." Ratzass said with a grin.

"Don't get cocky. In our eyes, you're all a bunch of newbies to us. So it'll be a good long while before you can get my team's respect." Chris pointed out.

"Is that true, Chris? I always thought only the best would be part of S-09?" Trig questioned.

"In a way, you are right but… If you wanna be a part of our 'family' then you better respect the rules that we've established. Failure to follow these rules will leave me no choice but to discharge you from my unit and issue your removal from the Mobile Infantry." Chris said in a calm tone but the threat was there which caused the four remnant troopers to gulp.

"W-We'll be sure to do that, sir." Ice Blonde said with a nervous chuckle.

"Good. So how are your kids?" Chris asked with his mood turning cheerful.

"They're doing well, sir. I was able to visit them in the time that you were still in the hospital." Ice Blonde replied.

"Splendid. Now when we meet my team some of them will seem… different. So whatever you do… don't freak out." Chris simply said as he reached for the control console near the door of the barracks.

The moment the automatic doors opened, a furry hand shot out and grabbed Chris by the collar of his shirt. "Whoa!" He exclaimed before he was enveloped in a hug.

"It's good to see you again, 'big brother'." A female voice teased.

Sighing, Chris looked into the golden eyes that seemed to shine in the darkness. "Hello, Vixen." He greeted.

"About time your vampire ass got out of the hospital." The voice of Rex entered his ears.

"Be nice, Rex, you can't exactly talk bad about the Commander considering he's still your senior." Another female voice scolded.

"Rain's right, besides you weren't the one who saved Terra by destroying a bug infested starship." A gruff voice with an almost Russian accent stated.

"Ripper-san is correct. We were all worried that Onii-san would be dead." A young male voice said with a Japanese accent.

"Hmm" A voice hummed in acknowledgement.

"Ghost and I agree it seems that we have some new blood in our little group." A calm male voice said.

"Well, Reaper, Oni, Rain, Vixen, Ripper, Ghost, Rex, as much as I appreciate your comments and the facts about our new members, I'm not really in the mood for any arguments that are about to happen." Chris said, calming the group down. "Now if you don't mind… I'd like to turn on the lights to see my family." He soon flicked the lights on revealing the occupants inside.

One of the troopers looked to be a Caucasian nineteen year old male with slicked back brown hair and light blue eyes. He wore a white bodysuit laced with blue with the 'S-09' initials colored in blue on his left pectoral region.

Another trooper was also male and seemed to be nineteen years old as well with somewhat messy but spiky black hair and onyx black eyes. He wore a black and gray bodysuit with silver streaks and the 'S-09' initials on his left pectoral region as well.

The next trooper was another male that looked Japanese with a hint of Caucasian in him. He had a scar on his lip, one down his left eye, and another on his cheek. He had buzzed down black hair and green eyes that almost looked like they were glowing. He wore a black bodysuit that was dark as night with the 'S-09' initials placed like the other two.

The next trooper was a twenty two year old African American female who was about the same height as Ice Blonde with dark skin while also having yellow tear drop tattoos on her cheeks. She had shoulder-length dark brown hair tied in a ponytail with blue dye that looked like rain drops. She wore a black bodysuit with yellow details and the 'S-09' initials colored light blue on her left breast.

The next trooper was a male approximately twenty three years old with red hair that was short and messy and orange eyes. He had pale skin but half of his face was covered in metal. He had the black bodysuit leggings but forgoes the top revealing a flaming skull on his back.

The next trooper was… strange to say the least. She was at least a twenty four year old female that much could be said but she looked like an anthropomorphic fox. She had black hair that flowed down to the middle of her back with gold eyes. She had black fur with silver glove and sock fur on her hands and feet plus at the tip of her tail. She had a small muzzle with her lips outlined in silver and thin silver fur around her eyes. She wore a pure black bodysuit with silver highlighting with the 'S-09' initials on her left breast emblazed in silver.

The last trooper was male who seemed to be seventeen years old with Japanese facial features and a small scar at the corner of his lip. He had pale blue shoulder length hair with two braids near his face and aqua blue eyes. He had tanned skin and was an inch higher than the anthro fox. He wore a red bodysuit with black details and the 'S-09' initials on his left pectoral like the other males but his was colored in black.

"So… this is Sigma?" Ice Blonde questioned.

"Most of these guys look like a bunch of kids." Ratzass said in disbelief.

"Oni…" Chris said as the seventeen year old walked in front of Ratzass… before punching him in the stomach, kicking the former K-12 trooper's legs out from under him, and placing his knee onto Ratzass's back while a knife was placed at his throat. "Rule #1: Don't underestimate us." The leader of S-09 stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Noted…" Ratzass groaned.

"Anyways, everyone, meet our new teammates." Chris started before gesturing to the four troopers. "This is Ice Blonde, Ratzass, Mech, and Trig. They're our new brothers and sisters."

Rex walked up to Ice Blonde and held his hand out. "A pleasure to meet you," He introduced with a grin. "I'm David Walker but you can call me Rex."

"Henry Alderete… Call me Reaper." Reaper introduced with an expressionless face.

"Wade Nilsson, Ghost." Ghost waved lightly.

"Ashley Ven. My call sign is Rain." The African American woman introduced with a small grin.

"Greetings, comrades, I'm Trent Boyled but you may refer to me as Ripper." The Russian introduced with his arms folded.

"Hello, I'm Alexandra Horinek. Don't mind my appearance, the eggheads messed up on a test and I became like this." The fox woman introduced with a happy grin. "You can call me Vixen."

The younger member bowed. "Ohayo, my name is Shinn Hibiki. I am called Oni during missions, I hope we can get along, minna."

"Okay, boys and girls, that's enough introductions." Chris ordered, going straight back into his military persona. "As of now, we've been given a mission to explore a new star system inhabited by another form of life. It's our job to check it out."

"Sir, will we be encountering any bug resistance?" Rain questioned.

"Unknown at the moment but be ready just in case we do have a little problem with some bugs." Chris answered.

"Any support?" Ghost questioned.

"A few platoons of troopers, some new prototype Marauder suits, and a few new sets of power armor exclusive only to us in Sigma." The Commander said.

Rex whistled. "I can't wait to try it on."

"In any case, this is to the rookies of our team. You will follow my orders without question and obey the rules within my squad." Chris started as he looked at the four new members of S-09. "Failure to comply or follow these orders will result in your immediate removal of the Mobile Infantry and if it's on a mission, I will shoot you myself. Do you get me, troopers?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Ice Blonde, Trig, Ratzass, and Mech responded in unison.

Archangel looked at the four with a firm look before grinning. "Welcome to Sigma."

* * *

 **May 1, 2305; London Terran Federation Shipyards [departure of prototype Titan-class vessel]**

The members of S-09 stood next to Carmen, Rico, and Jenkins; each one of the troopers equipped in the new Phase II power armor, the difference being from the other troopers is that it had a more sleeker design and the bodysuit generated more protection than a titanium covering. Behind the rest of Sigma were ten platoons of Mobile Infantry soldiers, ranging from two hundred each. Three hundred additional Fleet crewman stood next to the MI troopers.

In front of the massive group was the prototype Titan-class; it looked like the John A. Warden's class of ship only five times bigger. To others, it looked more like an ark than a Federation vessel if it was outfitted with three times the amount of laser cannons, missiles, and a shield generator.

"Well, there she is, Captain." Rico stated, his one good eye glancing at Carmen and had a ghost of a smile when he noticed the awed and almost longing look of his high school love.

"Words cannot express this feeling right now, General." Carmen uttered.

"Translation, I love it." Arc muttered to his team, who snickered before they stood up straight when Carmen leveled a glare at their general direction.

"Well, Captain Ibanez, what will you name her?" Jenkins questioned. "She's your vessel now."

Carmen looked at her new starship and a name finally caught her interest. "Varro… In memory of Hero and those who sacrificed themselves to save Terra."

Rico and Jenkins shared a look before looking back at the woman. "I think it suits it quite well, Captain." The General replied.

"Indeed." The psychic nodded in agreement.

"I suppose we should board it. We have a long journey ahead of us, Captain." Rico stated to which Carmen nodded in agreement before the two turned to Carl.

"I guess this is goodbye, Carl." Carmen told the psychic.

Jenkins merely grinned. "For now…"

"Take care of Earth and try not to cause another invasion, Carl." Rico joked.

Sighing, Carl gave the General a small glare. "You'll never let me live that down, will you?"

"No, I'm not." The one-eyed Marauder replied with a small grin.

"Hopefully it has a good armory." Rex whispered as he looked at the ship.

"Of course it does, Rex." Arc stated before the troopers and crewmen began to board the _Varro_.

An hour later, the crew was situated at their assigned stations as launch preparations were underway.

On the bridge, Carmen along with Rico and Arc stood at the ready. "Captain, engine room reports that all systems are green." An operator informed the Captain.

"Excellent, Lieutenant, all hands prepare for liftoff." Carmen ordered as the _Varro_ 's thrusters began to power up. "Commence take off!"

"Aye, ma'am!" The pilot responded as he lifted the controls with the lower engines igniting, propelling the Titan-class into the sky past the Earth's atmosphere. The ship bypassed the L-6 Base while on the ground, Jenkins was saluting to the ship that had left Terra.

"Let's see what this new warp drive can do." Rico muttered before turning to his love interest. "Take her away, Captain."

"Aye, sir." Carmen nodded with an eager grin before focusing out the windshield. "Engage warp drive. Set a course for the Lylat System." She ordered.

"Roger, setting course for Lylat." The co-pilot repeated, pressing a few buttons and switches. "Warp drive functioning at full capacity."

"Entering warp in T-minus… Now!" The pilot declared as the _Varro_ was engulfed in a bright light and shot light years away from the Sol System.

* * *

 **Planet Corneria, Mountain Town [Three Days after Federation Starship** _ **Varro**_ **leaves Terra]**

It was a regular spring morning, the birds chirped their songs as the sun rose into the sky. Inside a normal two-story house, a young wolf pup was waking up from her sleep. She had snow white fur with two black lines running across her muzzle, slightly floppy ears, shoulder-length black hair, and aqua blue eyes. She wore an aqua blue nightdress for pajamas while wrapped in her left arm was a small bunny doll.

Her bedroom was like any other child's with the walls painted aqua, her favorite color, and milky white carpet floor. A toybox filled with...well toys, sat against her bedpost, a small bookshelf filled with children's books, and a few posters of planets and stars pinned onto her wall.

The pup heard two knocks on her door. "Luna, it's time to wake up." A mature female voice called out from behind the door.

"Okay, mama." The pup named Luna responded as she swiftly hopped out of bed while holding her stuffed bunny close to her before she looked out her window to notice a few meteors fall a few kilometers away from the town. "Huh?"

"Sweetheart? Everything okay?" A burly older male's voice asked as the door was opened to reveal an elderly bipedal Collie-breed canine with black fur and aqua eyes, a tuft of white fur on his torso to match his dark hair. He was dressed in a white bathrobe with slippers on his hind paws.

"Papa, I saw shooting stars!" Luna exclaimed with an amazed look on her face.

The canine chuckled then smiled down at his daughter. "Well, that's quite rare. Did you make a wish?" He asked, scooping the pup up into his arms as they both looked outside.

Luna thought long and hard about her wish before she smiled brightly. "I wish I could meet aliens! Nice aliens that I can be friends with and play with!"

Luna's father chuckled wholeheartedly. "Then I'm sure you're wish will come true one day. You just gotta believe." He advised while nuzzling the pup which earned him a giggle from her. "Now let's head downstairs. Your mom's cooking up pancakes."

"Yay!" Luna cheered, wrapping her arms around her father's neck as he carried the pup out of her bedroom and downstairs.

This would be the family's last day of happiness for miles away, the meteors that sat upon the ground were actually the first signs of an invasion force from the bugs as a few Warriors crawled out and screeched, eager to tear into the flesh of their next victims.

* * *

 **May 5, 2305; Federation Starship** _ **Varro**_ **[Four Days after leaving Sol]**

"Where the hell are my pistols?!" A voice shouted from the armory.

"Check your damn locker again! You always miss them in your bloody locker!" Another voice shouted.

A rummaging sound was heard before the first voice responded. "Oh… My bad."

Arc shook his head, the childish antics of his team was both annoying but amusing.

*BOOM!*

"SON OF A BITCH! WHO THE FUCK PUT A STINK BOMB IN MY LOCKER?!" Rex's voice is heard.

The leader of S-09 facepalmed before he received a message on his com-link. "Commander Alder, get your team suited up and ready for a drop. You've got a mission." The Captain informed Archangel.

"Roger that, Captain." The red-eyed trooper replied before standing up from his seat and entered the armory. "Listen up, apes!"

The troopers of S-09 stood at attention, all eyes focused on the team leader.

"We've got ourselves a mission so get yourselves suited up and prepped for a drop. I get a feeling it's gonna be a Sigma mission. So get moving apes, I want you in the briefing room in less than ten minutes. Do you get me?" Arc looked around at his teammates.

"About damn time." Rex muttered as he pops his neck.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The rest of the troopers responded in unison before setting out to get their power armor on.

In less than ten minutes, the entirety of Sigma were in the briefing room with their helmets retracted while Arc, Carmen, and Rico enter the room with the two Bug War veterans having grim expressions.

"Sigma, I know some of you were getting antsy after spending four days on this ship but we have a problem." The General started.

"Though the ship is good to move around." Rex whispered.

"Dude, shut it." Ratzass whispered, not wanting to get a scolding from his CO.

"Today, we've received a distress signal from the long-range communications device from the probe that discovered the Lylat System." Carmen stated before pressing an image on the holoscreen. "We got this from the populace on the current planet we're investigating.

" _This is the Cornerian Police Force of the Mountain Village! We've encountered a hostile enemy force and need immediate military assistance! T-these things… They're killing everyone! We need backup, I repeat, we need-"_ A loud crashing noise was heard followed by the screeches of familiar enemies. _"No, stay back! AAAAHHHHHHH!"_

"That's all we managed to receive before the transmission was cut." Arc told the rest of Sigma.

"Sir, do we have any idea on who is attacking?" Rex asked.

"Take a guess, genius." Arc replied before swiping the screen to reveal planetside photos of the planet. "Apparently, these 'Cornerians' have their own version of English so that makes establishing communications as reasonable. But us, our mission is to scout these coordinates at Vector Zulu Niner and find any survivors." He glanced at the rest of his troopers. "Any questions?"

"Just tell us how much pain we should give them sir." Rex said as he stood up and slammed his left fist into the palm of his right hand.

The S-09 trooper gave his best friend a grin. "Well, Captain Rex, these are bugs so I'd say, we give them hell."

"In any case, scout the village and find survivors. If you encounter any enemy forces then it's your job as the bug exterminators to terminate them. Dismissed!" Rico ordered as he and Carmen left the briefing room.

"What are you ladies waiting for, breakfast in bed? Get to the dropship, troopers!" Arc shouted as his helmet enclosed his head.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The members of S-09 responded and quickly ran to the armory to collect their weapons.

Half an hour later, each of the troopers sat inside the landing ship with straps looked on their armor. "Alright, you apes, you wanna forever?" Archangel questioned.

"As much as the rest of humanity." Rex whispered as his blood was pumping.

"HOOAH!" The MI squad called out their military branch's battlecry.

"This is Bravo Four Niner, we are commencing our drop in three… two… one…" The pilot of the landing ship started before dropping from the _Varro_ and entering the planet's atmosphere.

* * *

 **Corneria, Mountain Village [Beginning of S-09's scouting mission]**

After the landing ship dropped off Sigma and returned to the _Varro_ , Archangel and his team were situated on a cliff that was overlooking the smoldering ruins of the town.

"What's the plan, sir?" Mech asked.

Using his HUD's enhanced camera, Arc zoomed in on the site before his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of bodies, both from bugs and the indigenous population. "Well Vixen, seems you've got friends. I've scanned the area and it seems the residents are humanoid animals. No sign of any survivors so far."

"How should we do it?" Ice Blonde questioned, her hands tightened the grip of her Morita SAW.

"Trig, you take Ghost and Vixen with you to set up an overwatch." Arc ordered.

"Got it, Commander." The sniper nodded.

"Rex, take Rain, Mech, Ripper, and Ice Blonde. I want you to head around and enter the village from the rear." The S-09 leader commanded.

"Roger that." Rex said before looking at his assigned teammates and gestured with his head, the five moving around to follow their orders.

"The rest of you are with me. Let's get in there." Arc said as he and his own team descended down the cliff and advanced towards the village with their rifles primed and ready to engage. Arc held up his fist to stop his group. "Second squad, what's your status?"

"We're entering the village now, sir." Rex replied on the com-link.

"Alright, keep radio silence unless something comes up." Arc stated before cutting communications.

"Fucking Christ…" Ratzass muttered as he noticed a male feline with his intestines gutted out of him from a Warrior's sharp arms.

"Oni, bring up the scanner. I want some lifesigns found asap." Archangel ordered while the Japanese trooper holstered his Morita and brought out a handheld scanning device.

"Commander," Trig's voice rang on Arc's com-link. "I've spotted something moving near your position."

"Bug?" Archangel questioned, his eyes scanning the area.

"Too small and too fast." Trig replied. "I recommend you stay alert."

"Acknowledged." Arc nodded before looking at Oni. "Anything?"

"Nothing… Wait! I got a reading. Lifesign is…" The Japanese trooper pointed to a slightly wrecked two-story house. "In there."

"Alright then, Ratzass," Arc turned to the last of the K-12 squad. "I want you and Reaper to scour the area. Leave no stone unturned. There can't be only one survivor here."

"Yes, sir." Ratzass nodded as he and Reaper walked off.

"Oni, you're with me. We're going in quiet. Don't wanna scare any of the occupants inside." Archangel stated as he and the youngest of Sigma pressed their backs against the broken front door. "On my signal…" He held up three fingers and counted down. Once he enclosed his fist, he took point and slowly pushed in the door.

Both troopers entered the house, their rifles at the ready only for them to slightly gasp at the sight before them. There were three corpses of Warrior bugs each with burn wounds on their exoskeletons while laying on the stairs was a male dog Cornerian with three puncture wounds in his chest. By his side was what looked like a laser pistol.

"Looks like this guy bled out hours ago." Oni theorized as he checked the canine. "He was protecting something or someone." The trooper looked up at his CO.

Arc looked up the stairs then looked at his squadmate. "Oni, stay here. I'm heading upstairs to find that survivor."

"Yes, sir." Oni nodded as he shouldered his Morita while Archangel slowly advanced up the stairs.

Scanning the area with his HUD's external cameras, the S-09 leader found no signs of Arachnid activity inside the house. He started checking rooms, passing by the master bedroom as well as a bathroom and a study room. His final stop came in front of the door of what he could guess must have been a child's room but once he entered… He wished that he didn't.

On the once pure white carpet floor was a female wolf Cornerian, who looked little more than a grotesque pincushion. Her white fur was matted with her blood and a bit of her intestines and her eyes were rolled in the back of her.

"Oh God…" Arc quickly retracted his helmet and released the contents of his lunch all over the floor. Wiping his mouth of any excess bile, the red-eyed trooper brought his Morita Mk. 1 up as his helmet enclosed his head once more. He checked the area and found only the corpse that is until he heard soft crying from within a wall closet.

"Hello?" He called out softly then his ears heard only silence. "Is anyone in there?"

All that is heard was silence before the closet slowly opens and he sees a small figure come out.

It was a small wolf pup Cornerian, her black and white fur was matted with dirt and soot and she wore an aqua blue summer dress. Wrapped tightly in her arms was a stuffed bunny that looked a bit dirty as well. Arc noticed that the pup's eyes were red and puffy, showing that she had been crying for who knows how long but there was also a hidden fear in those aqua orbs except that fear seemed to be directed at him.

"It's alright," Arc replied in a soothing voice as he holstered his Morita onto the mag-locks on his pack. "I'm a good guy, see?"

"What are you?" Asked the pup in a fearful tone.

"I guess in your case, I'm an alien but I'm a friendly one. I'll show you." Arc's helmet retracted, revealing his face to the child as he gave her a friendly grin. "See? I'm nice guy."

The girl looked at him with the fear slowly dissipating before a crash drew their attention.

"Overwatch, what the hell was that?!" The S-09 trooper questioned as his helmet enclosed.

"A Warrior Bug. It seems to be looking for something." Trig said.

"Take it out, I don't want any stragglers." Archangel ordered before switching the channel. "Rex, what's your position?"

"Hold one second." Rex said over the comm.

"What do you mean by that? Rex, what the hell is going on!?" Arc demanded heatedly.

"...Bug hole in a building…" Rex said.

"Dammit…" The team leader cursed before bringing his rifle out. "Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage. We didn't come equipped for bug hunts, we came for scouting." He cuts transmission with Rex before switching to communicate with the _Varro_. "This is Archangel, I've located and secured a survivor. I'm also reporting a Bug hole in one of the buildings, Rex will relay coordinates for an airstrike."

"Acknowledged, Commander, we're awaiting those coordinates." Carmen responded on the com-link.

"You heard her, Rex. Don't keep the lady waiting." Arc informed his second-in-command.

"It's a four story building with two pillars and a damaged statue of a bloodhound wearing a uniform." Rex said.

"Gonna need a bit more clear information, Captain." Captain Ibanez stated in irritation.

Arc sighed. "I know the location. Coordinates are Alpha Zero Two Charlie."

"Roger, sending in a flight of bombers. I'd recommend you exfil out of the village and prep for evac." Carmen stated before the transmission ended.

"You heard the Captain, apes. Pack up your gear and move to the cliffs, we're going home." Archangel ordered.

Multiple screeches are heard over the radio.

"Fuck!" Rex is heard before an explosion follows.

"Shit, Captain Ibanez, you might wanna get that landing ship down here as quick as you can. We just woke the neighbors." Arc responded.

"Roger, you've got five minutes, Commander. I suggest you move your asses like their on fire." Carmen replied.

"Acknowledged. Sigma, double time it up those cliffs! Trig, Ghost, Vixen, cover us from your position!" Arc commanded.

"Yes, sir." Trig and her teammates answered.

Arc turned to the pup. "What's your name?" He asked.

"L-Luna…" The pup answered.

"Luna, that's a cute name." The young man chuckled before his expression turned serious. "Listen, Luna, some mean monsters are on their way and my men are being pursued as we speak so I'll offer you a choice, okay?"

"Okay." Luna answered a bit scared.

"Alright, do you want to stay here and wait to be rescued by this planet's military or do you want to take my hand so my team and I can get you to safety?" Arc asked, his left hand outstretched to the pup.

The pup tentatively takes the hand before a loud bang is heard followed by a pain filled screech.

"Good choice." Arc said with a small grin behind his helmet as he scooped the pup up with one arm. "Oni, link up with the others on the cliff, I'll be right behind you."

"I'm going, sir." The Japanese trooper answered as Archangel descended the stairs and caught a glimpse of Oni exiting the house while also firing his Morita's Gatling gun attachment at a Warrior.

Arc and Oni fled from the house and linked up with Rex and his squad. "Rex, status!"

"Can't talk now! Running and shooting for my life!" Rex shouted following gunfire and pain filled screeches.

A loud shot rang before a splattering impact was heard behind Arc as he glanced to see a Warrior with a large hole through its nerve stem, courtesy of Trig.

"Oh shit!" Ratzass yelled as he and Reaper sprinted with a Plasma Scorpion bug following after them.

"Drop plasma grenades!" Arc ordered as he took out and primed the detonator on his explosive before throwing it at the plasma bug with Reaper, Rain, and Mech following the order.

The explosives go off and took out the Scorpion before more screeches are heard causing them to turn to see Rex running away from a group of four Warrior Bugs.

"Trig, give Rex some cover fire." Archangel ordered.

"I'm on it." Four separate shots rang out, each bullet striking the Warriors' nerve stems.

The troopers on the ground were at the cliffs as Ice Blonde, Ratzass, and Reaper gave the squad cover fire with their rifles. "Start climbing, Sigma!" Archangel ordered as Rain and Oni fired grapple lines up the cliffside then started retracting up.

"We better hurry!" Rex called as he saw Bugs approaching along with a Tanker.

"Jesus, it's a damn family reunion!" Ratzass growled.

"And it seems we're the barbeque." Mech added while climbing up the cliff.

"Ice Blonde, take the child." Archangel handed Luna off to the woman, who looked perplexed. "Keep going to the extraction point, I'll draw the bugs off of you."

"Right." Ice Blonde said as she begins the climb up while Luna had her arms wrapped around the female trooper's neck, her stuffed bunny smuggled in between her and Ice's chest.

Archangel turned to the approaching enemy and flailed his arms. "Hey, ugly! Come and get me!" He shouted at them before sprinting away from the cliffs.

"Archangel, what are you doing?!" Rex shouted.

"Keeping the bugs off you. If I can draw them away from the extraction point long enough, you'll have a clean exit back to the _Varro_." Arc responded. "Don't worry, this is me we're talking about. I don't die that easily."

"If you do die then I'm bringing you back just to kill you again!" Rex said.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Oh, and keep Luna safe or else I'm gonna be the one killing you." Archangel stated as he vaulted over a piece of debris and rolled under a fallen tree trunk.

The Bugs charge at Archangel but each one was gunned down as the Troopers kept climbing up.

"This is a load of crazy." Rex muttered as he was next to climb.

Pumping the grenade launcher on his Morita, Archangel fired an explosive which destroyed a group of Warriors. Pumping the launcher again, he fired another explosive round into the mouth of the Tanker bug, who swallowed it before its head exploded with orange blood and gore splattering the ground.

"Archangel watch out!" Rex shouted when he reached the top as a Warrior Bug charged at Archangel from behind.

Activating his left wrist blade, Archangel dodge rolled out of the way from the jaws of the Warrior then buried the sharp blade into the bug's nerve stem.

"Almost everyone is up here boss! You might want to hurry or else… well fuck…" Rex said over the radio.

"What is it?" Arc questioned.

"A lot of bugs, sir… and you better hurry!" Rex said over the radio.

"Keep running to the LZ. Don't wait up for me just get your asses back to the _Varro_ , I'll see if I can get some local help." Archangel responded.

"What!? Chris, don't do this!" Trig voiced her concern.

"Sorry, Tia, but I'm not letting a single one of my men become bug chow so don't argue with me on this." The red-eyed trooper stated, firing his Morita into another group of Warriors.

Reluctantly, Trig responded. "Understood, sir."

"If you managed to get back alive then I'll buy you a bottle of Vodka!" Rex shouted.

"Shut up and start running, ape!" Arc yelled, loading a fresh clip into his Morita then fired another volley of armor-piercing rounds into a Warrior.

"Sir, yes sir." Rex muttered as he gave Archangel a mock salute before running off with everyone.

Archangel led the bugs away from the cliffs but his ammo was getting dangerously low. He jumped over a Warrior that tried to skewer him only to get a barrage of bullets in return. "Disgusting little shit." The Commander muttered as he ducked under a pile of rubble, letting the bugs pass by him.

"Sir, we are boarding the dropship." Rex said over the radio.

"Affirmative, Captain, once you get back to the _Varro_ , inform the General of the bug invasion on this planet." Archangel ordered.

"And your status?" Rex muttered.

"If you don't hear from me within twenty four hours then you can guess what happened to me." Archangel responded as he crawled out of the rubble and activated the sneak function in his power armor, stepping carefully past bugs then making a break for it at the forest.

"This is Eagle Niner, inbound with payload." A fighter pilot responded as three Federation fighters flew for a bombing run.

"Eagle Niner, your target zone is clear of friendlies! You have permission to level that site, immediately!" Archangel ordered.

"Roger, Commander, commencing bombing run." The flight leader responded.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arc detected movement but his attention was drawn away with the sight of the landing ship holding his team and Luna flying away from the blast zone into the planet's orbit.

"Good luck sir." Rex said.

"Remember the old Sigma saying, 'Luck is for pussies, give us hell any day.' So keep yourselves sa- AHHHHHHHH!" Archangel roared in pain as electricity coursed throughout his body then he collapsed onto the ground. He could vaguely hear Rex call out to him before his eyes caught sight of a few humanoid canines in military gear surrounding him with rifles pointed at him.

* * *

 **A/N: That's the end of that chapter. Apologies for taking so long but having to write is becoming increasingly difficult when you have to worry about your future.**

 **Anyways, please review and comment but no flames or criticisms unless you wanna be fed to bugs.**

 **If you ignore the warning then you lot can just piss off.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	6. Chapter 5

**What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter of Sigma-09. Last chapter, Arc and his team discovered the remains of a Cornerian town as well as the beginning of a Bug invasion. Now, Archangel has been captured by the Cornerian Military. What are their plans for him? Will the crew of the** _ **Varro**_ **retaliate? Let's find out.**

 **Anyways, there will be a flashback moment that dates to Arc's first team under his command and the deaths that followed. Be advised that the deaths will be graphically explained and may hint to some of the films too with old quotes.**

 **Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OCs, Starship Troopers or Star Fox. All rights belong to their respective owners.**

 **Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!**

* * *

 **Starship Troopers: Sigma-09**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:** Captured! Two Worlds Converge

* * *

 **Date Unknown, Location Unknown [Commander Archangel held captive]**

Archangel awoke with a start, his HUD reactivating after it had been short-circuited by the unknown assailants. "Where am I?" He muttered to himself as he looked around to find himself in a steel-cased cell with blue laser bars sealing him inside.

He checked his inventory and found that his weapons, even his explosives, were taken. "Shit." He cursed, berating himself for being caught off guard and being taken captive as well.

The leader of S-09 tried his radio. "This is Archangel, calling to the _Varro_. Captain Ibanez, do you read?" All he received was static. "Goddamn it." He sat against the wall and waited until his captors came for him. If they were hostile then he'd show them just how much he and his team earned the namesakes as Grim Reapers.

* * *

 **May 16, 2305; Federation Starship** _ **Varro**_ **[Two Weeks after loss of S-09 team leader]**

Johnny Rico was not having a good day…

It started with the troopers of Sigma arguing about rescuing their leader as well as eliminating the bug threat.

Then came the complaints of other troopers not really liking the Cornerian wolf cub that seemed to be attached to Ice Blonde.

There's also the fact that a bug infestation was happening on this new world and it was their mission to eliminate it but there was also the problem that they'd be seen as an invading force to the local population.

What he wouldn't give for a bottle of whiskey right now…

"General, I need to speak with you." Carmen requested after entering Rico's quarters.

Sighing, Rico looked at his love interest with a tired expression. "What is it, Captain?"

"I believe we should contact with the Cornerians and request that they hand over Commander Archangel back to us." Carmen replied in her officer's stance. "The Commander's mission camera recorded his location and he seems to be at what intelligence believes to be the main city on the planet."

"We'll get to that but first, how's our guest?" Rico questioned.

"Besides a few troopers avoiding her, she seems to be fine. Ice Blonde has taken special care of the pup after S-09 returned. From what we gathered, they're not much different from us." Carmen answered.

"So, I see." The General nodded.

Suddenly, they hear knocking and the door opens to reveal Rex with his helmet covering his head.

"Captain, General. Just came to ask for new orders in regards to locating Archangel." Rex said as he stood at attention.

"Why are you still in your armor, trooper?" The General questioned, narrowing his one good eye at Rex.

"Waiting for new orders, sir." Rex answered.

"Well there aren't any, Captain. So return to the locker rooms and remove your armor. Until I deem otherwise, you and Sigma are on standby. Am I clear?" Rico demanded.

"Yes sir." Rex said before saluting the two officers and walks off.

Carmen glanced at the General. "Aren't you being a little hard on them?"

Sighing, Rico pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm getting tired of all the requests from them. I understand the need to rescue their leader but we have more important things to worry about than one man."

"So what do you reckon we do then, General?" Carmen questioned as she folded her arms.

"For now, we wait and see what will happen. We'll keep the bugs occupied in secret until then but Sigma is off any missions until deemed necessary." Rico stated.

* * *

 **Cornerian Military HQ**

"The destruction of the city and the death of so many people is sad but we must talk about the alien we have in our prison." Said a Bloodhound wearing an officer's uniform.

"I say we send it to the prisons, we have no idea what this thing is and it could be hostile to us." A black wolf in a uniform suggested.

"But what about its technology? We've analysed the weapons and the scientists report that it is somewhat primitive but it looks to be quite effective against any armor we possess." An eagle stated.

A grey rabbit looks at the photos placed on the table. "General Pepper, we have no idea what this alien could be. For all we know, it could be the reason the town was destroyed."

"But from what our troops reported, they found giant alien insects among the corpses and a group of ships unlike any we've seen performing a bombing run on them." A toad interjected. "It's reason to believe that these two alien races must be at war with one another. The bipedal race probably has a ship in orbit above our world even as we speak."

"I wish to hear what the alien was doing on the planet itself before we can fully decide what to do." Said General Pepper as he leans forward.

"What about the alien vessel? Are we to just leave it be?" The black wolf questioned.

"For the meantime we must. We are unsure of what it's purpose is but I know that antagonizing them won't end well for anyone." Said General Pepper.

"I'll call up security to bring the alien into an interrogation room." The eagle responded.

* * *

 **Cornerian Police Station [Interrogation of unknown alien]**

Arc sat in a metal seat after guards from the Cornerian military brought him to be interrogated. Two of them, a female puma and a male coyote tried to get info out of him but he refused to speak. They even threatened him but he still did not budge. Then came the female puma trying to seduce him and while it was a good show, the Commander still refused to speak and also he didn't want to be the cause of an alien sexual intercourse… at least not yet.

The leader of S-09 crossed his arms, his helmet still covering his face as he waited until the Cornerians head honcho showed up. A few minutes later, the doors slid open to reveal an old bloodhound dressed in a red military uniform.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Asked General Pepper.

Archangel nodded in confirmation.

"I am General Pepper of the Cornerian military. I want you to answer my questions and if you answer them truthfully then the verdict on what to do with you will be light." Said General Pepper.

"Why should I trust you, General? Your soldiers practically assaulted me when I was only doing my job." Arc responded heatedly.

"And that job was?" Asked the General.

"I'm sure you've seen the images of the alien bugs. That's what my job entails. The elimination of the hostile insectoid race known as the Arachnids." Archangel explained. "My race has fought them for years and we're slowly pushing them back as much as we can."

"And your reason for being on the planet?" Asked the General.

"Classified information, General." The trooper stated.

"And I take it the ship in orbit is classified too?" Asked the General as he showed Arc a picture of the ship.

The Commander narrowed his eyes and nodded firmly. "Any other questions, General?"

"Who was responsible for destroying the town?" General Pepper asked as he gave Arc a glare.

Arc mentally scoffed at the bloodhound's glare. "That would be the bugs, General. We merely responded to the town's distress call. That was all."

General Pepper looked at the armored being and could not see any emotion due to the helmet before he stands up and walks out of the interrogation room.

Archangel relaxed after the tense conversation. He briefly wondered what the Cornerians would do with him. Would they cut him open like some common lab rat? Keep him imprisoned? What happened to his weapons? Are they trying to steal the Federation's technology? So many questions but so little answers. He decided to just wait and see what will happen.

A guard came in, a young looking canine probably a Husky breed, and stood at attention next to the door. From the soldier's figure, he could guess that the Husky was a female likely in her late teens.

"Fresh meat for your military's grinder, eh?" Arc grinned slyly behind his helmet.

The Husky scowled at him. "Shut up, alien."

"That's not very nice, I'm only trying to spark a conversation." The trooper responded with mock hurt.

The Husky remained silent.

"You're just a ray full of sunshine. What? Your parents didn't show you any love so you decide to be a bitch to everyone?" Archangel questioned.

Again he was met with silence except the Husky was glaring at Archangel.

The trooper sighed. "Alright, you know what. I'm done with all this bullshiting around." His helmet retracted into his pack, revealing his face to the Cornerian, who looked upon him in shock. "I understand you're just doing your job but I will not be ignored."

"What are you." Asked the Husky before closing her mouth with a snap.

"I'm a human." Arc smirked. "Seems I finally got a reaction out of you."

"Never heard of a human before." Said the Husky.

"Welp, now you have, Miss…" Arc trailed on, not knowing the Cornerian woman's name.

"Corari. Private Mari Corari." Said the now identified Corari.

"Well, Private Corari, I am known as Archangel, a Commander of the Terran Federation's Mobile Infantry ground forces." The leader of Sigma introduced himself. "So why are you in the military?"

"Wanted the adventure." Corari answered.

Arc blinked. "That's all?"

"Yes." Corari answered.

"That's just foolish." The red-eyed trooper stated, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Well, why did you join?" Corari demanded with a glare.

Silence was all that the Cornerian received as Arc's expression turned grave. "I didn't have a choice." He muttered.

"What?" Corari said in surprise.

"Let me tell you a story, of a young MI sergeant under the command of an incompetent CO. The story in which led to the deaths of countless men and women that were under his command." Arc replied, his mind drifting back to _that_ day. The day in which he lost all those under his first command.

* * *

 **Two Years Ago, Planet Kuruvilla [Operation: FRONTLINE; Sergeant Archangel under command of Lieutenant Franklin Wesker, CO of Bravo Six Two]**

 _Archangel sat in his assigned seat in the landing ship. His comrades by his side outfitted in steel grey painted armor with B-62 emblazoned on their torsos in dark blue. He had been assigned to this unit to garner results for PSICOM after his training had been completed._

" _Oi, kid, try not to get killed so quick." A male trooper, codenamed Hellhound, nudged the sergeant's shoulder in a joking manner._

" _Leave him alone, Hellhound. You'll only make him nervous." A female trooper called Viper scolded the man._

" _Sorry ma'am." Hellhound said._

 _Another male trooper, a young private named Hardbait, glanced at Archangel. "So what's our mission supposed to be?" He asked._

" _We're supposed to be part of the first wave for the assault. Drive out the bugs and clear a way for our remaining troops." The sergeant responded in a stoic tone._

" _Alright, troopers, lock and load! We're going in hot!" Lieutenant Wesker ordered the troopers, who all loaded their Moritas and checked their knives._

 _A few minutes later, the landing ships made contact with the ground and released their payload of Mobile Infantry troopers._

" _Here's where the fun begins." Hellhound said with a grin._

 _The troopers of Bravo disembarked the landing vessels, full-on sprinting to a patch of rocky terrain that provided suitable cover for the first wave of soldiers while they released war cries. Archangel looked over along with Viper, Hellhound, and Hardbait to see two Plasma Bugs preparing their rears to fire burning plasma into the atmosphere at the starships orbiting the planet._

" _Nuke 'em! Archangel! Hellhound!" Wesker ordered as two troopers handed Arc and Hellhound a pair of M55 Missile Launchers as Viper and Hardbait loaded them with Tactical Oxygen Nukes._

" _Try not to miss, kid!" Hellhound said with a grin._

 _Arc merely growled at the soldier before the Lieutenant began the order. "Fire!"_

 _Both troopers fired the launchers, sending the nukes at the Plasma Bugs to which all of the MI forces took cover when the missiles struck and destroyed the artillery-class Arachnids._

" _Follow me!" Wesker ordered as he charged down the hill with the rest of the troopers following after him, releasing war cries or firing their Moritas recklessly._

 _Wesker had led Archangel and his fellow troopers down a ravine before a Warrior appeared out of nowhere, screeching at the humans. "Fire!" The Lieutenant ordered to which the troopers in front pulled the triggers on their rifles._

 _The Warrior took a few hits but managed to throw its pincers forward, piercing the Lieutenant's shoulder and chest as he fell down from the pain. The wounded bug then began to mercilessly attack Wesker, who screamed in both pain and terror as the other troopers fired, some hoping to save their CO while others just wanted to kill the bug._

 _In a few more hits from armor-piercing bullets, the Warrior reared back and died. Arc glanced down and realized too late that the Lieutenant had already died from his wounds._

 _A Private noticed movement. "Incoming!" He shouted as a group of Warriors began to emerge from bug holes, all of them roaring or screeching for blood._

 _Viper looked around, hoping someone would have a plan. "What the hell are we supposed to do?" She whispered._

" _I-I don't know." Hardbait stuttered, his stance looking along the borders of complete terror. Even Hellhound seemed conflicted, unsure if they could eradicate the bugs when their CO was just killed minutes ago._

 _Arc glanced at the frightened troopers and spoke the words that reignited their courage. "Kill them! Kill them all!" He ordered, opening fire on the Warriors along with the rest of Bravo._

 _The Warriors kept trying to attack but the bullets either blew off limbs or caused massive holes but with every ten bugs killed, one MI trooper was struck down._

 _A Warrior charges at Archangel, who just finished killing a different bug._

 _Hellhound fires the underslung grenade attachment of his Morita Mk. 1 at the bug, showering the ground in green blood and guts. The danger-seeking trooper tapped the sergeant's shoulder. "Come on!" He shouted as he ran forward, ignoring the warnings from his fellow troopers as he fired his rifle. "Come on! Come on! You want some?" He yelled at the bugs._

 _A few of his bullets struck a Warrior's nerve stem, killing it instantly as he mounts its corpse and unleashed molten lead on another. "Here's some!" He declared vigorously. "Yeah! Get some of this!" Another bug falls dead before he noticed too late that a pair of jaws bit down on his left leg. "AHH!" He cried out in pain._

 _The Warrior throws Hellhound to the dirt, relieving him of his torn off leg. "Ah, motherfucker!" The trooper screamed in agony as he held the stump that once been his limb._

 _A Warrior bug charges at Hellhound only for it to be riddled with bullets as two MI troopers saw Hellhound drop._

" _Get his ass up! We're pulling back!" Archangel ordered, firing another volley into a Warrior bug._

 _The two MI troopers nodded and were about to pick up Hellhound when the ground beneath them broke, sucking them into the darkened abyss. Hardbait was close enough as he activated his IR view for his camera only to reel back in terror when a mass of Warrior bugs began to viciously eviscerate the troopers, their screams of pain and terror reaching the ears of the rest of Bravo._

 _Hellhound crawled over to his rifle, desperate to plug holes into more Arachnids when a Warrior's jaws gripped tightly on his other leg. "No! No! No!" He yelled as he scrambled for purchase in the ground, his fingers digging in. "Not like this! Not like this!" The bug threw him to another group of Warriors that quickly began to tear him apart. The sight was enough for a few troopers to lose their lunch either in their helmets or on the ground._

" _Fall back!" Archangel ordered the remainder of Bravo, the troopers turning tail to run while providing cover fire for the other troopers ahead._

 _The MI troopers began running back with those behind firing on the Warriors before a Warrior climbs up from a hill._

 _Hardbait greeted it with an underslung shotgun barrel to its face and fired, green blood splashing on his armor. "Fucking bugs!" He shouted as he rendezvoused with the other troopers._

 _The soldiers of Bravo could see the landing ships, prepped and ready to take them off-world. The troopers were grateful that they'd get a chance to return. Hope had been dashed soon after as bug holes opened beneath the landing ships, dragging them and the pilots under to be torn asunder by whatever bug lied in wait._

 _Left with almost no hope, the troopers made a final stand against the bugs. Each wave pushing them back further. Archangel, Hardbait, and Viper were with a trooper carrying a long-range comlink._

" _Fleet Rescue, this is Brave Six Two, requesting immediate evac! We've sustained large casualties! Bug resistance is too strong!" The trooper reported._

" _We need more men over here!" A trooper cried out, firing from an elongated slab of rock._

" _Viper, assist those troopers!" Arc ordered to which the woman quickly joined the defense._

 _The trooper with the comlink listened in on the response then cried out, "What!? What do you mean you can't evac?!"_

 _Archangel took the communicator and listened in. "This is a command from the Captain himself, we cannot risk any more ships on a hot zone for a handful of troopers."_

" _You motherfuckers!" Arc yelled in complete frustration. "Are all we good for is dying to you cowards?!"_

" _That's not what I meant-" Archangel interrupted the reception officer. "Save it! I want evac for my troopers or so help me, the bugs will be the least of your worries when I get up there!" With that said, the sergeant returned the communicator to the trooper._

 _Soon more bugs ran towards the MI troopers, who continued shooting at the bugs that continued rushing at the troopers despite being shot at._

" _There's too many- AHH!" A trooper cried out as a Warrior seized him in its jaws then snapped down, cutting the unfortunate soldier in half._

" _We can't hold them!" A female trooper shouted as she and her partner fought with all they could before they too were overrun by the bugs._

 _Archangel silently cursed, the bugs were gaining more ground and he was losing troopers fast. What could he do? How could they survive against these odds?_

 _Before the super soldier knew it, an Arachnid kamikaze bug classified as a Bombardier landed in front of him and Hardbait. "Fuck!" They both shouted before it exploded, sending the two troopers flying._

 _Arc crashed against a rocky wall. His head spinning and his vision clouded. The last thing he could vaguely hear were the screams of his troopers then darkness._

 _He awoke from his unconscious state, his head searing from a migraine. "Ow…" He groaned then began to stand up. He most likely had a concussion but he would not lie down just yet. Now until he knew the rest of Bravo was safe._

 _Once his vision cleared, Archangel was met with a horrifying sight…_

 _Lying on the ground were the corpses of MI troopers and Bugs with all the MI troopers either missing limbs, torn to shreds, or with holes in their bodies while the bugs were all filled with bullet holes or limbs blasted off._

 _Archangel began to search for survivors, his mind dreading that he had been the only one to survive the results of the failed operation. For ten minutes, he scavenged the bodies of their dog tags then across his search, he had found Hardbait's body or at least half of it. His upper torso was all that remained along with his head._

" _Help…" A weak female voice that Arc recognized caused him to stiffly freeze from his current task of removing Hardbait's dog tags._

 _The clone looked around with a critical eye before finding a hand raised to the sky that was bloodied. The sergeant sprinted over and dropped to his knees when he realized that it was Viper, sporting grievous wounds on her torso. Her helmet had been destroyed to reveal that she was of Middle Eastern descent with smooth bronze skin, short black hair in a ponytail, and hazel eyes. If this were any other situation, Arc would have found the woman to be extremely attractive but right now was a serious problem. She was bleeding for who knows how long._

" _Viper, hang in there!" Archangel shouted as he reached into his pack and brought out his small medical kit, removing a pair of dressings to apply to Viper's wounds._

" _No, I'm done." Viper said before coughing up blood._

" _I won't allow that!" The young man commanded as his shaking hands began to search for a small biofoam canister only for another to stop them._

 _Viper stops him with a hand to his arm and said. "It's too late. I've already lost too many blood."_

 _Arc retracted his helmet, a look of sorrow on his pale features, he felt his eyes burning but he couldn't explain what it was? Was he crying? Is he sad that the troopers under his temporary command had all been slaughtered like animals? "I… I can still save you!" He argued._

" _No, you can't… It's over for me." Viper said as her eyes became heavy._

 _Arc gently shook the woman. "Stay with me! I'll get you back to the ship, I'll get you help! I can save you!" He commanded almost hysterically. He would not accept her death, he couldn't. Why must fate be so cruel?_

" _It's okay. I'm ready." Viper said with a small smile as she closed her eyes._

" _Viper? Viper!" Arc cried out as tears began to freely pour down his cheeks. He held the woman's body for a total of two minutes before roaring loudly in the sky. His voice echoing throughout the entire ravine._

 _After he removed all of the dead troopers' dog tags, the sergeant made it his personal mission to completely destroy any bug resistance on the planet using any weapons at his disposal even his own hands._

 _He fought for days which turned to weeks then to months. His devotion to see every last bug dead on the planet had earned him the moniker of Grim Reaper. The bugs feared him and he relished in their fear as he systematically killed them in painful ways when there were lone scouts._

 _By the tenth month, a Fleet Rescue starship picked up his transponder and recovered him. He eagerly had a few 'choice' words with the Captain of the vessel that abandoned him and his fallen comrades on the planet._

 _Since then, he relied only on himself even when Sigma was formed. He became a lone wolf with the desire to only kill his prey._

* * *

 **Present**

Archangel released a breath. "And that's the story."

The Husky had tears in her eyes and used one hand… uh paw… whatever, to wipe away the tears and said. "That is so sad."

The trooper snorted. "Believe me, it was a lot more than that. It was absolutely disgusting that the Captain of the vessel that housed those soldiers would so carelessly abandon them to die on that planet." He gripped his hand into a tight fist. "The Fleet always did the flying while the Mobile Infantry did the dying. Makes me think that all we're good for is cannon fodder once the higher ups are done with us."

"So you believe you're all expendable?" Corari asked.

"Well, to some we aren't, more specifically me. I'm one of the few my government would rather see alive regardless of the other troopers they have under their command. Some Fleet personnel would risk life and limb to save soldiers of the Mobile Infantry but others just wouldn't give a rat's ass about the MI since we're the only ones who suffer more casualties than we can count." Arc stated bitterly.

"So your navy doesn't fight against any ships?" Corari asked.

"What ships? The only things they had to worry about was a plasma bombardment from bug-occupied worlds." Arc stated with narrowed eyes. "The only times they would enter ship-to-ship combat is if there were terrorists and that's rarely happened since before the First Bug War."

"First Bug War? How many wars with these things have you fought?" Corari asked in surprise and curiosity.

Closing his eyes, the trooper remembered the classes he was tasked to take. "Currently, this would be considered the Third Bug War. The First lasted for about five years then the Second spanned to the rest of the galaxy for about another five years. This is humanity's Third one, we've been fighting for two years straight."

"And how long have you been in the military?" Corari asked.

"Since I was born." The young man responded stoically.

"What?!" Corari shouted in shock.

Nodding, Arc continued. "I can understand your reaction but it's only natural for someone to think that but make no mistake, I was created only to fight and kill. That's always been my purpose in life and it will never change."

"So they do that with _all_ of your soldiers?" Corari asked in concern.

"No, just me because I'm a clone." He replied bluntly.

"What? You're a clone? Are there others?" Corari asked.

Arc looked down with a solemn expression on his features. "There were others but they died before they could even take their first breath. I'm the only one that survived."

"So how did they die?" Corari asked with concern.

"Cellular degeneration in their lungs. Their bodies didn't fully construct in their infant stage so they essentially suffocated before they could even be ready." Archangel answered with an expressionless face. He had long forgotten the deaths of his brothers and sisters, only focusing on his mission to eradicate any Arachnid forces.

"That's horrible." Corari said with tears.

Shrugging his shoulders, Arc found the table to be quite interesting. "It doesn't matter, they're dead and there's no bringing my siblings back. Besides, they got the easy way out."

"You consider suffocation easy?" Corari demanded with a tearful glare.

"They died without having to suffer. That's effectively a mercy in my eyes." Arc stated in disinterest. "Besides, would you want a group of children grow up to be cold-blooded killers that only know how to fight and die if need be?"

"No… I guess not." Corari said with a sad look.

Archangel patted the woman's shoulder. "Listen to me, whether it was right or wrong, I'm still living proof that there will be horrible ways for a child to grow up. Besides, clones were not the first test subjects."

"You weren't?" Corari asked.

"Let's just say that it started with adults then went on to children and the idea finally came to use clones. It was not pretty that much could be said." The leader of S-09 replied firmly.

"And no more could be said." A familiar voice said as General Pepper walked in.

"General!" Corari said as she salutes the Bloodhound.

Archangel glanced at the General. "So you were listening just as I suspected."

"And we are coming closer to a conclusion with your talks on what to do." Said General Pepper.

The trooper smirked. "Well, don't keep me in the dark, General. What have you decided?"

"We have decided to try and establish contact with your ship and we require your assistance to do so." Pepper answered.

"Well, then I request a few things before I help you." Archangel said in his military doctrine tone.

"And what are they?" Pepper asked.

Arc held up his index finger. "First and foremost, I require the return of my weapons that your people have confiscated and no doubt experimented on them. Any data you have on them will be deleted at once since it is Terran Federation property."

"Very well. The requests shall be met." Pepper said with a serious tone.

Nodding, the trooper held up his middle finger. "Next, I wish to bathe since I have no idea how long I've been imprisoned and I smell like a private's locker during basic training."

"Agreed." Both Corari and Pepper said at the same time.

"Last but not least…" A growling sound came from the human's stomach. "I'm gonna need a big meal after this."

"I believe that is understandable but our food might be different from yours." Pepper said as he walked off.

The trooper shrugged. "We'll just have to see now, won't we?" He muttered.

"I think we should find you a shower first." Said Corari with a grin.

"Would you care to lead me there?" Arc asked.

"Uh, sure." Corari said before walking down the hall with Arc following.

There was silence between the two before the Terran decided to speak up. "Why did you look nervous when I asked you to take me to a shower?" He questioned.

"What?! Oh, no reason!" Corari stated with a small blush.

Arc raised his left brow in suspicion. "You sure? It sounded like you wanted something else?"

"Oh, we're here!" Corari stuttered as they reached their destination.

The trooper had all but forgotten his questioned. "Oh, good, time for that shower." He rubbed his hands in anticipation as he entered what seemed to be a locker room that looked to be empty.

"I'll just wait out here." Corari stuttered.

"But I don't know how the showers work on this planet." Arc stated truthfully. "Plus, I don't know where to put my armor and bodysuit."

"Uh… fine I'll only help a bit." Corari stuttered with her face red.

The Terran grinned. "Thank you." Then he began the process of removing his armor, piece by piece until all was left was in his issued form-fitting bodysuit.

"Is that uncomfortable?" Corari asked as she lightly tapped a shoulder pad.

"If you're not used to it. In Basic, you learn that the Power Armor is an extension of your own body only with increased strength, speed, and agility." Arc replied as he began to remove the top part of his bodysuit.

"Oh I see…" Corari trailed seeing Arc's upper body.

Despire being pale skinned, his body was marred with scars that ranged from burns, scratches, gashes, and even bullet holes. There were even ones that looked like they pierced his spinal cord but he still stood. The scars were barely even noticeable as he proceeded to slip the lower part of his suit off.

"Uh…" Corari said trying to advert her eyes.

Now that Archangel was fully naked, he glanced at the female Husky. "Well, aren't you going to show me how these showers work?" He questioned, making sure not to show his front to the Cornerian.

"Right!" Corari said as she walked into the shower before opening it up to reveal two dials and the nozzle.

"The red dial is the heat and the blue one is the cold. Just turn the red dial counter clockwise to turn it it and the blue dial clockwise to turn that on." Corari instructed.

Arc nodded. "Alright, I understand now." He grinned at the woman while patting her on the back. "Thanks for your assistance."

"Then I'll wait outside." Corari said before walking away.

The trooper stepped into the shower, turned it on until it was lukewarm, and washed his sweat-matted body. It took a few minutes, but Arc had finished his shower and stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Are you done?" Corari asked.

"Yes, I am." Arc answered as he left the shower area so that he may dress in his bodysuit and power armor.

"Well then let's go get something to eat." Corari said before a growl is heard and both stood in silence.

The Terran suddenly broke out in an amused grin. "Seems I'm not the only one who's hungry."

"Let's go." Corari said as she led Arc down the halls until they reached the cafeteria which was filled with dogs, cats, foxes, hares, birds, and even a few toads.

"Hmm," The trooper looked around then noticed that many of the Cornerians began to look at him. "I suppose I'm the new center of attention." He muttered.

"Well you are an alien around here, so yeah." Corari answered as they got into a lane.

Grabbing a tray, the Terran picked an assortment of edible-looking foods then waited for his companion to join him. The two sat at an empty table, trying their best to ignore the amount of stares that leveled down on the human.

"It must be strange." Corari said before taking a bite of her food.

"I've dealt with it before." Arc responded, eating his food.

"So how does it taste?" Corari asked.

The Terran chewed a few times then swallowed. "Hmm, it's actually pretty good." He replied.

"Well that's good to know." Corari said as she took another bite.

Arc inwardly chuckled. "In all honesty, I expected to be on the floor having a seizure and possibly die from the food if it's slightly less than edible."

Corari giggles before saying. "Well I guess you would since we are both unknowns."

"To each other perhaps, but now I see you as a friend." The Terran grinned at the women.

"Same here." Corari said with her own grin.

"So I'm only going to say this once…" Arc glanced at the Cornerians still looking at him. "Stop looking at me like some goddamn circus freak!" He shouted.

"You know to us, you're the freak?" Corari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then to me, you're all cosplaying furries." Arc retorted.

"What the hell did you say?!" Growled a Bulldog.

"No offense." The Terran brought his hands up. "I just call them like I sees them."

"You might want to tone it down." Corari said with a concerned look.

"What? Is it offensive for your race to be called cosplaying furries?" Archangel questioned.

"When you call _us_ furries… it does." Corari answered.

The trooper blinked. "Oh… I just pissed them all off, didn't I?"

"And me." Corari answered.

"Ah…" Arc looked around and found the rest of the Cornerians glaring at him. "Uh, sorry, I didn't know."

"How about we focus on finishing eating and go get your weapons?" Corari suggested.

"Good idea, I didn't come to this planet to fight another alien race." The Terran whispered.

"Aren't you fighting a race of giant bugs?" Corari deadpanned.

"I did say another." Archangel clarified.

There was silence as everyone ate until they were done and the two were out the door and making their way to the armory.

"Well that was awkward." Corari muttered.

"Don't remind me." The Terran lightly growled.

"Hey, what weapons did you have?" Corari asked.

Arc found his Morita as well as the explosives. "This." He gestured.

"No pistols?" Corari asked.

"Not into those." Archangel replied.

"So you only use rifles? What if you run out of ammo?" Corari asked.

"I've got these." Arc unsheathed his hidden wrist blades.

"Your armor comes with hidden blades?!" Corari said in concern.

"Only my unit." The Terran shrugged, sheathing his blades and retrieving his rifle.

"Oh good, you're here." Said a male Hare.

"Huh? Who the heck are you?" Arc questioned.

"Lieutenant Archy Sora. I am in charge of the armory." Archy answered.

"Uh, well, good day, Lieutenant." The trooper nodded at the hare.

"And don't worry I managed to destroy all of the data on the weapons like you requested." Archy said with a smile.

"Excellent, it wouldn't do good if another race had Terran technology." Arc stated in acknowledgement.

"Agreed and we are way past using bullets anyway." Archy said as he walked to a rack which held rifles.

"Laser rifles?" The trooper asked, looking upon the weapons.

"Yep. They are good for any environment and no matter what happens it will always shoot straight." Archy said with pride.

"There's the drawback that it overheats and can also drain the charge packs depending on the settings of the lasers." Arc pointed out. "If anything, that's a hinderance for soldiers since they only seem to rely on laser weaponry."

"You have your weapons and we have ours. We have gone on just fine with only our lasers." Archy said.

The Terran narrowed his eyes. "I'd like to see what you think about that when the bugs are tearing your people to shreds like common game."

"I think we'll manage." Archy insisted.

"Don't bother he gets this way whenever it involves his guns." Corari muttered as she shook her head.

Scoffing, the super soldier left without so much as a word. He knew right then and there that these Cornerians were too soft and overconfident. Should the bugs decide now to attack the Cornerians, they'd be dead already.

"Sorry about that." Corari said as she caught up to him.

"Just take me to General Pepper so I can contact my people." The trooper demanded lowly.

"Right." Corari muttered before guiding the Terran down the halls until finally they reached Pepper's office.

"Come in." Said General Pepper as he was meeting with a group of animals… people… Whatever! These people were dressed in different cloths so they weren't military.

"General, I see you already started without me." Arc declared as he glanced at the other Cornerians wearing different clothing. He could make out some of their species from the archives that was used on Terra. His HUD provided all the information he needed as well.

The first was a red fox, the second was a blue falcon, the third was a green toad, and the last was an elderly looking grey hare.

The Fox was dressed in a green pilot suit with a jacket.

The falcon was dressed in an orange pilot suit with a jacket and a communication device.

The toad was dressed in a blue pilot suit with a jacket and red bandana around his neck as well as a hat.

And finally the hare was in a red pilot suit with a jacket and an eyepiece but one thing that Arc saw caught his attention… was the robotic legs he had.

"General, who are these people?" The leader of Sigma asked, a bit perplexed by the new arrivals.

"Oh, these are the ones who will be going to make contact with your ship." Answered the General.

The red fox walked over to the Terran and held out his paw. "Hello, I'm Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox."

Arc looked down at the appendage and shook the offered paw. "Commander Archangel, soldier of the Terran Federation."

"So anything we should know before making contact?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, don't piss off the Captain or she'll personally come down here and castrate you… and me." Arc replied.

"Okay… warning acknowledged." Fox muttered.

"Anything that doesn't involve castration?" Asked the falcon.

Arc thought about it then shook his head. "Well, as long as I'm the one that does the introductions then we should be golden."

"And once we are onboard?" Asked the toad.

"Don't touch anything or anyone, I don't want to cause another war because someone can't keep their hands away from women." The trooper stated.

"And does that also go for your guys?" Corari asked.

"Yeah, you can look but don't touch." Arc waved his finger at them.

"So what are we waiting for?" Fox said as he walked to the door.

The trooper looked at General Pepper. "Is he always this enthusiastic?" He asked.

"You get used to it." Everyone, including Corari answered at once.

"Right…" The human muttered before looking at the other three. "I don't believe we've been introduced either."

"Names Falco Lombardi." Said the Falcon as he held out a greeting hand or wing.

"Pleased to meet you, Falco." Arc shook the blue falcon's wing.

"I'm Slippy Toad." The toad introduced himself as he held up a greeting webbed hand.

The Terran took the offered limb. "A pleasure to meet you as well." He nodded at Slippy.

"And I'm Peppy." Said the hare as he held out a greeting paw.

"Hello." Arc took the appendage and offered a nod.

"Private Corari, you are to go along since you seem more comfortable with the soldier and you can help the team adjust to him." Pepper informed.

"Yes sir." Corari saluted.

The Terran was a bit apprehensive at this but decided against it. It would actually help bridge ties with Earth and the Cornerians. "Alright, then I guess all we need is a ship to take us back to my own vessel."

"We have a ship right now." Peppy said with a smile.

"Then lead me to it, I'm still pretty much a guest on this planet." Arc stated as the rest of Star Fox led him to their vessel, the Great Fox. In his opinion, it would have looked spectacular if the _Varro_ wasn't built.

"So, what do you think?" Fox asked.

"Meh, our ship's bigger." The Terran replied.

"I'd like to see." Slippy said.

"You will, you better believe that." Archangel responded, boarding the ship.

* * *

 **Terran Federation Titan-class Starship** _ **Varro**_ **[In orbit over Corneria]**

Carmen sat at the captain's chair, watching her bridge crew working as she formulated a plan on how to contact the Cornerians.

"Ma'am, a ship is approaching." Said the radar operator.

"Is it coming from the planet?" The Captain questioned.

"Yes ma'am."

"Open a transmission!" Carmen ordered.

"This is the Great Fox contacting orbiting ship." Said a mechanical voice.

"Great Fox, this is the Terran Federation starship _Varro_ , identify the nature of your approach. Failure to comply will be met with hostilities." Carmen stated over the com.

"That's not nice, Captain. And after all the times I had to save your ass." A familiar voice spoke over the comlink.

"Is that you Archangel?" Carmen asked.

"In the flesh, Captain Ibanez. Request permission to dock, ma'am." Arc replied.

"Permission granted, Commander." The Captain nodded, a faint smile appearing on her face.

The Great Fox approached the Varro before stopping next to it and extended a docking clamp. The two vessels met with each other as Carmen left her seat to head for the airlock.

"Captain. We saw the ship approaching and wanted to see if there was a problem." Rex said as he and the rest of S-09 walked down the hall.

"It's nothing, Rex. Just a little recovery is all." Carmen assured the trooper.

"Understood." Rex said with a nod before he and the rest of Sigma walked off.

The Captain arrived at the airlock and waited as the door began to pressurize with oxygen. In no time, the airlock doors slid open to reveal Archangel and five Cornerians with him.

"Captain." Arc saluted to which Carmen copied.

"At ease, Commander." Carmen grinned then looked over at the five aliens. "I'm guessing you're supposed to be your planet's ambassadors?"

"More or less." Said the fox.

"We're also making sure your soldier returns safe and sound." Peppy said with a smile.

"Well, since he's clearly not injured or bleeding to death, I suppose you've all accomplished that current task." The Captain stated in a light joking manner.

"Yes, well it was difficult trying to at least get him to say hi." Corari said.

"Considering you held me captive for who knows how long, you'd do the same thing in my boots." Arc retorted.

"You were more like a forced guest." Corari said with a sheepish grin.

"Your guys tazed me." The super soldier deadpanned.

"And you were on a world with your fighters bombing our cities." Fox muttered.

"No, we were bombing bug holes, that city was long gone." Arc clarified.

"And how were we to know that?" Corari asked.

The trooper wanted to argue but could see the husky's point. "Fair enough."

"Care to introduce us?" Carmen asked.

"Oh, right." Arc gestured to the five Cornerians. "The four males are part of a mercenary group called Star Fox. This is Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, and Peppy Hare. The husky is Mari Corari, a member of the Cornerian Military."

"Ma'am." The mercenaries and Corari said as they salute.

"No need for that, I'm not even your commanding officer." Carmen waved them off.

"So shall we get to negotiations?" Fox asked as he dropped his salute.

"Yes, follow me." Carmen gestured to the group to follow.

The group followed the captain through the ship before finally reaching a conference room where once inside everyone sat down.

"Wait here while I bring the General." Carmen informed the Cornerians.

"So this is how you live all day?" Fox asked.

"You get used to it." Archangel shrugged.

"I'll take your word for it." Falco said.

The group waited until the doors open to reveal Carmen and behind her was General Rico.

"General." Arc stood and saluted the man.

"At ease, Commander." Rico held a hand halfway up to wave off the formalities.

"I take it these are the ones here for negotiations?" Rico asked.

"Yes, sir." Archangel glanced at the Cornerians. "Well, don't keep the man waiting. Introduce yourselves."

"Hello, I'm Fox McCloud and I'm in charge of the Star Fox." Fox introduced himself.

"Peppy Hare is my name, I serve as a sort of mentor to the young pilots." Peppy said.

"I'm Falco Lombardi." Falco introduced himself.

"I'm Slippy Toad." Slippy said with a wave.

"And I'm Private Mari Corari." Corari said.

Nodding, the one-eyed veteran assumed an officer's posture. "I am General John D. Rico, an officer of the Terran Federation."

"So how should we start?" Fox asked with a shrug.

"We can begin with negotiations on what to do against the Arachnids." Rico replied, sitting at the head of the table.

"This was actually the first time we even saw these things. You have more experience dealing with them. Do you have a list on what types there are?" Peppy asked.

"There are many that could be traced back from the first Bug War and there are more coming in every year." Rico presses a button as a holo-vid reveals the anatomy of a Warrior. "The main units for the Arachnids are the Warrior Bugs, six-legged killing machines that will tear a man to shreds."

"I believe we've seen their remains." Falco said with a shiver.

"Count yourselves lucky you haven't met the live ones." Arc stated with folded arms.

"Hey, what are those larger bugs?" Slippy asked as he showed the remains of a Tank Bug.

"Tanker Bugs, heavily armored anti-infantry units. Stay away from them as far as you can otherwise their flamethrowers will melt you till you're nothing but bone." Rico informed.

"Yikes. Hate to be you when you're down there Fox." Falco muttered.

"Well, as long as he doesn't do the stunt I once pulled to kill one then he'll be alive." Rico remarked.

"And that stunt was?" Fox asked curiously.

"I jumped on the back of a Tanker, put a big enough hole through its exoskeleton, and lodged a grenade inside. The resulting explosion was quite messy." The General replied, a nostalgic grin appearing on his unshaven face.

"Sounds like something Fox would do." Falco said with a grin.

"Well, we didn't have power armor back when I was young." The General stated.

"Hey, what about the ones that have heads on their tails?" Slippy asked.

"These are a new breed of Plasma Bug, we haven't officially given them a name yet." Rico replied.

"There are other Plasma Bugs?" Fox asked.

Nodding, Rico brought up a list of the many bug species their soldiers encountered. "There are countless types of bugs, each one more dangerous than the last. Every year the Arachnids bring in new weapons against our forces. Ones that can fly, spit acid, dig tunnels, or even mimic humans by stealing their power armor."

"Yikes. What can they not do?" Slippy asked.

"That's a question our eggheads have been wondering for years but each answer often led to something we could never understand." Arc remarked.

"Well it sounds like you are in a huge mess with these bugs." Falco said.

"Yes, and now so are you." Rico pressed a button, bringing up images of Warrior Bugs roaming the forest near the ruined mountain village.

"Oh, well damn." Falco muttered.

"Two weeks ago, your planet has been invaded by the Arachnids and the inhabitants of that town have become the victims. Only one survived, a little wolf girl under our care." The General looked at Archangel. "Speaking of which, that little girl's been wanting to see you again, Commander."

"I'll be sure to say hello, sir." Arc nodded.

"And you tried to wipe them out with a bombing run?" Fox asked.

"Yes," Rico glanced back at the camera. "Seems we didn't kill them all. We've been getting reports that there were bug sightings all over this star system."

"Great, that means more massacres." Falco muttered as he rubbed the bridge of his beak.

"In any case, it will be more fortunate for both our races if we come to an alliance. If that will satisfy your leaders." The General stated.

"It most certainly would, General." Peppy said.

"Then I suppose I'll make it official. As the representing ambassador of the Terran Federation, I proclaim an alliance with the people of Corneria." Rico announced.

"And we as the representatives of Corneria, accept and welcome you with open arms." Fox replied.

Archangel grinned, despite his capture creating a setback, he also led this moment to converge two worlds together. Now if only he could find a drink on the damn ship.

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for this chapter. Now the Terrans and Corneria have engaged into an alliance, what will the future hold?**

 **Please review and comment on this chapter but no flames or rude criticisms unless you want to be bug chow.**

 **If you ignore the warning then I'll just either report you or remove your reviews because you type of people are just wasting my time.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	7. AN: Terrible News and Message

**Hello, everyone. It's GKC here bringing you some… bad news…**

 **Last night, my grandmother passed away from cancer. Doctors said she was in a lot of pain and couldn't hold on since the chemical treatments didn't work so she…**

 **I'm gonna keep this brief, I'm really upset right now and I don't feel the need to deal with a prick named Doom Marine 54's bullshit right now.**

 **My family is already going through a tough time and you have the fucking balls to start insulting my stories right now when one of my loved ones is dead! You better hope I never find you because I swear to God Almighty that I will fucking kill you!**

 **I'm tired of being insulted by your childish tantrums since you can't grow the fuck up and move on. People like you piss me off because you're nothing but scum. Worthless, degrading scum that deserves to just burn.**

 **Think of this as getting a rise out of me if you will but just know this... No one knows you or gives a shit about you, Doom Marine. I don't give a shit, my reviewers don't give a shit, other writers don't give a shit, no one gives a flying fuck about you! What? Did mommy and daddy not love you enough when you were little? Are you taking your little tantrums out on writers because you yourself are a crappy one?**

 **You may not know this now but I'm fucking laughing at you. Every kiddy insult you send me is just hilarious and quite pitiful. Oh, that's right, none of them are even on there because I delete them. Wiping your existence away with every click just like I did your original account~**

 **So go on! Keep this little game going on. I'll still be kicking you down and watching squirm like the worthless insect you are.**

 **If you can't handle being outcasted by everyone then just put yourself out of your misery. It'll be easy for a little prick like you.**

 **Oh, and do fix your grammar. It looks like something a five year old types, actually, a five year old would be better than you at least.**

 **Besides that, to all my fans and fellow writers, I'm going through a terrible ordeal. I might not write for a few days due to my grandmother's death. I'd appreciate it if you'd send me your support.**

 **Thank you and peace out, everyone!**


	8. Chapter 6

**What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter of Sigma-09. Last chapter, the captured Archangel met with the people of Corneria then made a connection with one of the guards. There he meets with the mercenary group, Star Fox, and brings them to negotiate peaceful delegations with the Terran Federation onboard the ship,** _ **Varro**_ **. Now that an alliance has brokered between both Earth and Corneria, the two forces march on a campaign against the invading Arachnid forces.**

 **New troopers for Sigma is being introduced in this chapter and I have 'StoneWolf120' as well as 'marinerecon' to thank for the submission of these characters.**

 **Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OCs, Starship Troopers or Star Fox. All rights belong to their respective owners.**

 **Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!**

* * *

 **Starship Troopers: Sigma-09**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:** Corneria Campaign: FNG and the War

* * *

 **May 22, 2305; Terran Federation Starship** _ **Varro**_ **[War Room meeting between General Rico and General Pepper]**

"General Pepper, glad you could be here." Rico told the old hound.

Nodding, Pepper shook hands with the Bug War veteran. "It is an honor to be aboard your vessel, General Rico. It's quite the impressive ship."

"Appreciate the compliment, General, but this isn't a formal visit." The leader of the Marauders stated then motioned to a holo-projector on a table revealing the planet of Corneria. "Our orbital satellites found seismic activity in eight different quadrants on the planet. It seems the Bugs have made themselves at home."

"Out of the eight areas these creatures have inhabited, four of them are near residential zones. The civilians in those sections have already been evacuated here to Corneria City while the military bases there have already engaged the alien forces." Pepper added.

"We're mobilizing our own forces for a massive ground assault against the Arachnids. Seventy five percent of the Mobile Infantry are standing by to attack these Bug Hives." General Rico brought in a holographic fleet of dropships flying towards separate sections of Corneria.

"When can your troops be sent out into battle?" General Pepper questioned.

Sighing, Rico brought up the dossiers of S-09. "After these troopers are brought back from training your forces down at the Cornerian Military Base."

"Ah yes, Commander Archangel and his team. What's the status on their training regiment?" Pepper asked, focusing on the images of each member of Sigma.

"Well…" Rico trailed on thinking back on his days as a trainee during Basic Training. "It's better if you see the reports yourself." He passes over a tactical pad to the old bloodhound.

Skimming his eyes across the writing, Pepper's expression grew more and more serious. "Is this how you train your soldiers?!" He demanded, lightly waving the pad in his gloved paws.

"While it may be brutal, it is also effective in making excellent soldiers. If anything, you'll be quite pleased to find that your own forces will be the perfect bug-killing machines." The veteran explained.

The bloodhound rubbed his tired old eyes. "I don't know if that'll be a good thing or an especially bad one."

"We'll just have to wait and see, General." Rico replied.

* * *

 **Cornerian Military Training Base; Planet Corneria [S-09 assigned as Drill Sergeants for Cornerian trainees]**

As the war meeting continued, the troopers of Sigma began breaking in the new Cornerian privates.

Archangel inspected the three rows of trainees. He could see it in their eyes. The sense of adventure, curiosity, and excitement. He had seen it in so many young privates. "Listen up, recruits!" He shouted in his best drill sergeant tone. "You may not know me and I don't know you. Frankly, I don't give a shit because you're all just civvies in my eyes."

A few of the recruits hidden in the back released small growls but didn't say anything.

"But I will tell you this now. Once you've stepped through those gates, you forfeited your lives as civilians in order to be soldiers and you will get your wish. The Cornerian Military drill sergeants are too soft for young people like you so the Terran Federation decided to intervene by sending me and my troopers to train you in our ways." The red-eyed trooper told the recruits, seeing a few confused looks on their faces. "You're wondering who the Terran Federation is. Well…" He retracts his helmet to reveal his face. "Here's your answer."

Rex came by his CO's side. "All of you! At attention!" He commanded.

The recruits quickly got into proper military postures albeit a few of them looked quite sloppy.

"To think that this would happen to me, having to train a batch of green alien apes…" The leader of Sigma muttered to himself then noticed a recruit's feet weren't together. "You!" He gestured to the trainee.

The recruit was a young feline Cornerian who looked to be a female snow tiger. In Cornerian terms, she must've been quite a heartthrob fresh outta high school. "Me?" She meekly pointed to herself.

"What's your name and rank?" Archangel questioned.

"Uh, Private Serah Vernian." The tiger answered.

The Commander strolls over to the Cornerian, who began to shake slightly in fear. "Private, your feet are supposed to be together."

"R-right." Serah quickly brought her feet together back in her posture. "Sorry."

"Let me tell you all this here and now! The first and last words I better hear out of your bloody mouths will be 'sir'! Do you get me!" The super soldier demanded, getting up in front of the tiger's face.

"Sir, yes, sir!" The recruit hastily responded.

Rex decided to intercept. "Commander, shall we do the test?"

"Yes, Captain, it's time we do some canonizing." Archangel cracks his knuckles then starts to remove his power armor, further confusing the Cornerian recruits. "Now, who here believes they can take me down?"

The result was instantaneous. A buff looking wolf Cornerian raised his paw. "Sir, I guess maybe I do, sir!"

Removing the last piece of armor, Archangel gestures for the wolf to come at him. The recruit lunges with a right hook only for it to be caught as the human judo flips the Cornerian onto the ground then in a quick movement broke the wolf's arm. The recruit's pained howls caused the others to cringe at the brutal display.

Standing up, Archangel looks down at the wolf. "You alright there, kid?" He asked.

"Sir, yes, sir! It's my arm. I reckon it's broken, sir." The Cornerian replied, holding his broken arm with light tears appearing on his face.

Archangel gestured to Rex, who followed the order immediately. "Medic!" He commanded then two Cornerian medical officers quickly gathered to the injured recruit.

"Now, let this be a lesson to any of you who think they've got what it takes to take down a trained Federation soldier. Rex, take the recruits out." Archangel ordered his second in command.

"Yes, sir." Nodding, the Captain glances at the Cornerians. "Alright, recruits, get yourselves in line because you're all going to be brought in for medical check ups and physical examinations! Now move it out!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The recruits chorused as they march into formation towards the medical bay.

Archangel collects his power armor and reattaches it back on then activates his com-link. "Ghost, I'm leaving you in charge of breaking in the newest recruits. I'm going to check on the knife throwers."

"Got it, sir." The trooper responded on the com.

Cutting communications with Ghost, Archangel strolled on over to the knife range. Once there he found quite a few Cornerian recruits throwing knives at wooden targets. His eyes landed on a young male raven who scored a perfect headshot with a knife. He would be an interesting trainee.

Overseeing the training session was Vixen, she had earned a reputation among the recruits as a scary woman mainly due to the fact that some poor bastard tried to flirt with her a bit too actively only to be on the receiving end of her fist. "Next line!" She commanded as the row of trainees moved so the next group could go for their turn.

The Commander focused on a lanky looking German Shepherd who seemed much too overconfident in his own skills that is until he threw his knife which bounced off the target.

Vixen glanced at her commanding officer, who looked quite disappointed.

"Ma'am, I don't understand! What does a knife have anything to do with this training." The Cornerian complained as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. "All you need to do is press a button to drop a bomb, ma'am."

"Cease fire!" Archangel ordered surprising the recruits. "Put your paw on that wall, soldier." He told the dog, who looked a bit perplexed. "I said, put your goddamn paw on that fucking wall!"

Reluctantly and a bit fearfully, the German Shepherd placed his paw on the wall. Reaching up, Archangel pulls out a knife that was embedded in one of the targets, flips it, and then throws it at the Cornerian's paw. Releasing a yelp, the dog grasped his bleeding paw after the knife stabs into his palm. The knife-throwing recruits gasp and nervously back away from the S-09 team leader.

"The enemy cannot push a button if you disable their hand or paw." Archangel gestured to the wounded Cornerian then he pulls out the knife, ignoring the whimper from the recruit. "Medic!" He called out to a medical officer, who immediately came running towards him, checking on the injured trainee.

* * *

 **Night; Officer's Lounge [Troopers of S-09 housed]**

"Well, we can all agree to this. These Cornerians are a bunch of fucking softies." Ratzass stated, popping the top off a beer then took a swig of the alcohol.

"Amen to that, brother." Mech nodded, downing his own drink.

Vixen sat a few ways away from the two troopers going over a TACPAD with Oni sitting next to her, drinking a bottle of water. "Seems we're getting better results than the last batch of recruits at least." The young woman muttered with her friend nodding as well.

Ice Blonde, who had adopted the little wolf pup Luna as her daughter, was calmly reading a story to the sleepy child from a holobook she would read to her own daughter, who snuggled up close to her adoptive mother's chest.

Reaper sat against the wall, seemingly asleep due to his eyes being closed but no one knew. Rain was by him, drinking a glass of whiskey.

Rex was cleaning his rifle before he stopped to look down its sights.

Ghost checked his combat knife while Ripper smoked a cigar going over a TACPAD.

Archangel looked over two new dossiers for the new guys in his squad. "So when were you all going to tell me that two FNGs were going to be part of my squad?" He questioned.

"Oh, we were getting FNGs?" Rex asked sincerely confused.

Growling, the super soldier tosses the dossiers on a table. "Damn it, I hate it when the suits start giving me new guys for my team. I'm gonna give the General a piece of my mind for this kind of bullshit."

"Can't change the past, Archangel." Rex stated as he turned and focused on his rifle.

"Shut up, Rex." The Commander responded, leaving the officer's lounge.

"Geez, what's up with him?" Rex muttered to no one.

Archangel went into his office then sat down on the soft leather chair. He had never been used to comforts like this but he lived with it since it came with the job.

"Excuse me, sir?" A voice said, causing Archangel to look and see it was one of the Cornerian recruits, a raven. He looked to be in his late teens with bristled black feathers and a mop of black hair with dark brown eyes. He was outfitted in the Cornerian Military ACUs suited for an avian.

"Name and rank, soldier." Archangel commanded.

"Corporal James Raven, sir." Raven introduced himself.

The super soldier tried to recount on the name then realized that this was the recruit that he'd been taking a careful watch on. "Ah yes, Corporal, take a seat. There's something I have to discuss with you."

Raven takes a seat in front of Archangel and just remained silent.

"I've been watching your progress as of late, Corporal Raven. I'm impressed and I don't say that often." Archangel stated. "You're probably the only recruit out of everyone else in the barracks that actually knows what to expect and do. Tell me, why did you sign up?"

"I lost friends and family because of war. I don't want others to lose anyone close to them." Raven answered.

The Federation soldier narrowed his eyes. "Is that all, private?"

"Yes sir." Raven replied honestly.

"Then you may leave, soldier." Archangel dismissed the Cornerian.

Raven stands up and gives the Commander a salute before he walks off and out of Archangel's office.

Arc watches the door for a few more seconds then looked down at the two dossiers. "I need a drink." He muttered.

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Archangel stood at the landing pad, waiting for the retrieval ship to drop off the two new members of Sigma. The rest of S-09 were busy training new recruits while keeping others in shape with new exercises.

The commander waited for a few more minutes until he spotted something in the distance. His enhanced vision letting him see the incoming Federation dropship descending towards the training base.

Once the ship touched down on the landing pad, the hatch opened, revealing two troopers dressed in standard Federation BDUs with two bags over their shoulders. When they stepped off, Arc managed to get a good look at both of them.

The first was a young Hispanic man in his early twenties that stood at six foot two with jet black hair that was spiked at the front, tanned skin, a muscular but slightly lean body, and a small beard on his face. He also has a steel grey left eye while his right eye seems to be cybernetic.

The second was a strong built Caucasian man in his late teens with short trimmed brown hair and cold blue eyes. He stood at a height of six foot three with a chiseled face and jawline. However unlike his companion, he wore an OD green BDU of the Federation Marine Corps.

Both of them stopped then saluted the young commander.

"Names and ranks, troopers." Arc ordered.

"Master Sergeant Jason Rodriguez, codenamed Daredevil, sir!" The man with a cybernetic eye saluted.

The taller of the two saluted as well, a hard look on his face. "Corporal Flynn Walsh, codenamed Leatherneck, sir!"

Archangel's eyes narrowed. He had heard a lot about these two especially the corporal. "I see. Report to the barracks immediately then come to my office for debriefing. Remember, you're in Sigma now so I expect you both to follow my orders to the letter."

"Sir, yes, sir!" The two troopers saluted then marched off towards the barracks.

Now that his new teammates were brought in, he needed to get the recruits up and ready for a simulation battle.

* * *

 **Battle Simulation Arena [Two Hours Later]**

The current batch of privates all stood side by side and in rows, decked out in full combat gear for Cornerian soldiers. Archangel stood in front of them with Rex by his side.

"Alright, recruits, you will be firing live ammunition in this training course. So think twice before you go pointing your weapons at other trainees." The commander informed the Cornerian privates, who all looked down at their blaster rifles.

"Any of you who wishes to live, keep your gear on. If you are having equipment trouble inform us and we shall give you further instructions." Rex informed with a stern tone in his voice.

Archangel looked at the recruits. "Now, leading this simulation will be Corporal James Raven. Corporal, take them out." He ordered the Cornerian.

Nodding, the raven marched up then looked at his fellow recruits. "First fireteam with me! Second team in ten seconds!" The Cornerian commanded to which the first row of privates activated their blasters.

"How do you think they'll stack up?" Rex asked Archangel.

"We'll just have to wait and see." The commander stated as a horn blew.

"Go!" Raven shouted as the first row of recruits ran up with battlecries.

Once the troopers stormed over the ramp, they were met with androids outfitted in Federation colors, wielding stun laser rifles which fired a pinpoint beam at the safety harnesses on a recruit's torso, thus sending electric shocks throughout the body in order to disable them.

The troopers closed in on the end with a few lying on the ground in pain from the electricity going through their bodies.

One of the troopers, a female corgi, brought up her blaster rifle, about to fire another burst until a big wolf got in her way. "Hey! Goddamn it, Ramirez! Clear my line of fire!"

"It's my visor! It's all messed up!" The wolf, Ramirez, retorted. He tried adjusting the helmet but it seemed to be irritating his head.

A female tiger lightly slapped his shoulder. "You're gonna blow the score!"

Raven noticed this problem. "Rosie, stay put!" He commanded the corgi then advanced to the wolf. "What's the problem?"

"Something's wrong with my damn helmet! It's getting in the way of my vision!" The wolf explained his situation.

"How come whenever we try to do something right, the problem always points to you, Ramirez?" The tiger questioned as she dragged back a downed toad.

"Oh, maybe it's because I'm big and dumb, is that what you want to hear, Serah!?" Ramirez retorted.

"Today, rookies, today! If this were the real thing you'd be dead!" Rex shouted.

Raven quickly got his squadmates moving. "Ramirez, take off your helmet and provide cover fire! Serah, you're assigned with him!"

"Yes, sir!" The two troopers nodded with the wolf removing his helmet while the tiger covered her partner.

"The rest of you! Charge ahead!" The black-feathered avian commanded.

"Hmm. Unorthodox." Rex muttered as he crossed his arms.

Archangel, however, grinned slightly. "Interesting…"

The recruits all released battlecries, storming the ramparts as they returned fire with their blasters, disabling many androids but not without taking casualties as well.

"Sloppy but that is to be expected from rookies… we'll whip them up to shape yet." Rex stated.

Raven, Rosie, a black male cat, and a male greyhound were all in cover. The leader of the current brigade of recruits provided covering fire along with the cat until the feline released a cry of pain from being shot in the head by one of the androids.

The avian went to help his comrade but a large doberman quickly shouted. "Leave him! We've got to complete the course!"

Raven hesitated, frowning at the thought of leaving a fallen soldier then vaulted over his cover and charged ahead. However, the androids all suddenly shut off. The action confused the Cornerians until they noticed the Sigma CO marching up to all of them with a look of irritation.

"Line up! All of you!" Arc ordered.

The Cornerians all lined up and stood at attention.

"Would you all like to explain to me what just happened?" The super soldier asked calmly.

"I'm unsure of what you mean, sir." Raven said in confusion.

"Well, Corporal, allow me to explain. You all left a man behind and not only that but you've gotten practically half of your troops killed. Had this been real, I'd have you strung up for lashes after a stupid stunt like that." Archangel looks at all of the recruits. "Let this be a lesson to you all! You never leave a man behind! You work as a unit! You fight as one! You survive as one! You die as one! Leaving your comrades behind just to complete a mission makes you all garbage in my eyes so make sure this never happens again. Other than that, you've all failed the simulation battle. Report to the barracks immediately!"

The Cornerians all shuffled out of the room.

As the recruits left, Archangel turned to Rex. "Call up the corporal in my office."

Rex nods his head before he walked off to get the corporal.

However, the alarm rang throughout the entire base. The trainees and the recruits were completely confused at the moment but the Federation troopers knew better.

"All hands! Report to your squad leaders at once! This is not a drill! I repeat: This is not a drill!" A Federation operator reported on the PA as many troopers scrambled to the briefing screen.

Rex stopped and ran towards the armory to retrieve his weapons.

Archangel quickly radioed the rest of Sigma to the briefing screen.

Everyone reached the briefing screen and took a seat or in some cases stood tall or leaned against the wall.

The screen came online to reveal Generals Rico and Pepper, both of whom had dire looks on their faces.

"I appreciate everyone here who has gathered. To those of you who don't know me, I am General Rico, current leader of the Terran Federation forces in this star system. The other with me is General Pepper." The one-eyed human introduced.

"We have dire news..." Pepper informed as he looked at them all.

"It seems that the Bugs have set up a hive near the capital city of Corneria. We speculate that given time, they will launch a plasma bombardment onto the city." Rico relayed the information.

This caused murmurs to go around at the information.

"I understand that most of you recruits have family there. This is a dire situation indeed. From what I've gathered, your training is not complete yet but as of now, you are all on active duty. The troopers of S-09 are now in command of you to assault the bug hive and eliminate the opposition there." The Hero of Planet P told the Cornerians.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Rex asked as he stood at attention.

"Permission granted, captain." Rico replied.

"What kind of support will we be given for the operation?" Rex asked.

The General looked at all of them. "You are the support. Commander Archangel, I leave you in charge of the operation."

"Yes, sir!" The super soldier saluted.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen. Good luck." Rico said.

Once the screen cut, Archangel looked at the gathered troopers. "You all heard the Generals! They've left us in charge of you. Now I know some of you have had your misgivings about me and my troopers but make no mistake, we're all brothers and sisters in arms now! Listen up, the bugs will show no mercy to anyone. Not a single man, woman, or child. They made the mistake to piss off the Terran Federation but worse yet, they made the mistake in pissing off all of you. So I say we go give those six-legged bastards hell! Are you with me, troopers?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Everyone shouted.

"Alright, move out, troopers! We launch in twenty mikes!" The S-09 leader commanded.

The Cornerians all marched off, gathering weapons, ammo, and equipment to prepare for the coming mission. The time for war was nigh.

* * *

 **Operation: Bird's Prey; Terran-Cornerian Alliance Dropships enroute to Bug Hive near Corneria City [S-09 commanding 202nd Cornerian Infantry Battalion]**

Terran Federation and Cornerian Military dropships flew overland as thousands of recruits filled with Cornerian privates were eager to drive the Arachnid forces off their homeworld. Sigma was in the middle of the group in a TF dropship.

Archangel checked his Morita with the rest of his squad doing the same with their own weapons. A couple of the recruits had been assigned in the same ship as them. The recruits consisted of Corporal James Raven, Private Rosie O'hara, Private First Class Serah McRenald, Private Eric Ramirez, and the black cat named Private Hector Johnson.

Rex moved his head from side to side, making popping sounds. Reaper prepped his Morita. Rain checked her tomahawks. Ghost was hanging his head, probably napping. Ripper slapped a clip into his rifle. Vixen loaded shells into her shotgun, pumping it. Oni ran a knife over his gauntlet then slipped it into a sheath on his leg. Trig checked the sights of her sniper. Ratzass seemed to be adding a sentence to his rifle with a knife that spelled 'Remember K-12'. Ice Blonde looked at a picture of her kids then stuffed it in her chest armor. Mech loaded up on as much explosives as he possibly could. Daredevil checked his ammo reserves. Leatherneck just seemed to be quietly sitting there, not a single word from him at all.

"Ten mikes out, Commander!" The pilot reported to the super soldier.

"Alright, boys and girls. Once we hit the ground, our team is to immediately advance towards the Bug Hive and neutralize the Brain Bug leading them. When it's dead, the bugs will be disorganized, giving us the chance to mop up and exterminate them." Archangel relayed his orders to the group of Terrans and Cornerians.

"Ready, sir." Everyone stated.

"Then let's get this done." The commander smirked as his helmet covered his entire face.

However, the calm before the storm ended when a Cornerian dropship was destroyed by plasma fire. "Anti-air!" The pilot shouted.

"Oh god!" One of the Cornerians muttered.

A plasma bombardment from the direction of the bug hive was launched at the assault forces, a few of the dropships, both Terran and Cornerian fell to the earth in smoldering ruins. Hundreds of recruits who never had the chance to serve and protect their homeworld from the bug threat, reduced to nothing more than charred corpses.

"Damn bugs!" Ripper growled.

"All ships! Prepare for a hard landing!" Archangel relayed the order over to the remaining pilots. "Gear up, troopers! We're going in hot!"

"Time to squish some roaches!" Rex shouted as he slapped the safety of his rifle off.

The dropships quickly lowered down, opening their hatches to release their occupants. S-09 and the Cornerian recruits all ran out while in the distance a horde of Warrior Bugs came charging at them.

"Open fire!" The commander of S-09 ordered, bringing up his Morita Mk. 1 and fired.

The rest of S-09 opened fire with the Cornerians opening fire as well at the charging bugs with their blaster rifles.

The Arachnids began falling with bullet and laser holes with many having chunks of their carapace or limbs blasted off.

The ground shook behind the bugs, revealing it to be a Tanker Bug. It released a screech at the humanoid forces as it aimed its mandibles at a squad of Cornerians and fired a stream of flames that engulfed the recruits. They screamed in agony as their flesh melted off from their bones.

The Terrans and Cornerians focused their attention on the Tanker Bug.

The bullets did some damage as did the blasters but the Tanker Bug lived up to its name as it was barely fazed by the onslaught.

"What will it take to kill this thing?" A wolf Cornerian shouted in fear as his blaster rounds just stopped on the bug's carapace.

Archangel frowned until he noticed Leatherneck charge at the Tanker, avoiding the flames the large black bug exhaled from its mandibles. The corporal leaped onto the back of the bug using his power armor's enhanced agility then fired point blank at a specified area on the carapace, opening a large hole big enough that led to the fuel-like orange blood in its body.

"What is that guy doing?!" A cat Cornerian asked as he shot a Warrior full of blaster marks.

"I think he's doing a Rico." Rex muttered with a raised eyebrow as he finished off a Warrior.

Grabbing hold of the crevice that surrounded the wound, Leatherneck slinged his rifle onto his back and brought out a grenade. Releasing the pin, he tossed it inside then leaped off the Tanker, rolling to a crouch as the large bug released one last screech until it exploded in a fountain of orange gore.

"Yep, he did a Rico." Rex said before he jumped left as a Warrior stabbed one of its legs where he once stood and began pelting it with bullets that pierced through its carapace.

"Advance!" Archangel ordered, vaulting from his cover. The rest of Sigma along with the remaining Cornerians left their protective shields and gunned down any Arachnid forces still brave enough to fight.

Trig sniped another bug down, further adding to her kill count. However, she caught something moving in the air. "Hoppers!" She called out to her teammates.

An unfortunate Cornerian was the first to directly meet the bugs of the First War until his head flew from his shoulders by the Hopper's bladed wings.

"Shoot them down!" Archangel commanded, directing his aim into the sky.

Reaper reloaded his rifle and took aim at a Hopper flying at him. With a pinpoint shot, the armor-piercing bullet struck the nerve stem, sending it crashing to the ground and landing in front of him.

Rex sees a Hopper flying towards a female fox Cornerian who was distracted by a Warrior. He takes aim and fires multiple bullets that tore through its carapace which caused it to fall out of the air and onto another Warrior.

The vixen glanced at the Terran and nodded in thanks. "Appreciate the save, Captain." She responded with a small grin until a faint rumbling erupted beneath the ground. A set of claws struck from the earth and seized the female fox, who cried out in terror.

"No!" Rex shouted as he lunged over, grabbing her arms just before she could sink and began pulling, "We need help!"

His cries were deafened by the sound of gunfire and screeches. The vixen looks into Rex's hidden eyes with terrified tears. "I don't want to die!" She cried before the claws retracted back into the ground, taking half of her body with it.

"Medic!" Rex shouted as he shot into the ground at where the bug went, causing some pain filled screeching.

Rain noticed Rex holding the bisected body of the vixen. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Rex, she's already dead!" She argued.

"Not again!" Rex growled as he shot a few more bullets into the pit.

No screeches of pain returned to him. A hand roughly shook him. "Focus, trooper! Start firing, right now!" Ripper yelled.

"Right." Rex said as he gently laid the vixen onto the ground as a medic ran over before he began advancing towards the Arachnids and firing his rifle.

Ratzass revved up the chaingun attachment on his Morita Mk. 1, unleashing a hail of bullets onto the bugs that tore through their carapaces.

An Arachnid charged at him from behind only to get struck by blasters and bullets.

The K-12 trooper glanced back to notice Ice Blonde and Mech along with Raven and Serah were the ones who covered him. He nodded in thanks which they returned.

The onslaught continued with the Cornerians and Terrans slowly pushing the Arachnids back inch by inch, leaving corpses of both bug, Terran and Cornerian lying on the ground.

Ghost spotted the entrance to the hive. "Commander, front door, dead ahead!" He relayed the information to Archangel.

"Sigma, get inside that hive!" Arc ordered his team.

The Terrans and Cornerians advanced towards the opening, killing every Arachnid that got in their path.

"All forces, hold the Arachnids here! Keep them from getting to the city!" Archangel relayed the order to the rest of the 202nd as well as any Terran forces that joined the assault. S-09 entered the catacombs of the bug hive.

The troopers made their way down the long tunnel before they came out into a big hollowed out interior.

"So this is the inside of a bug hive?" Hector questioned, looking around the entirety of the hive.

"It's pretty big. How are we gonna find this so-called Brain Bug?" Rosie wondered aloud.

Mech glanced at the Cornerians. "It already knows we're here." The African American stated.

"Mech, place some explosives on the supports of the hive. Take Ripper, Ghost, Rain, and Ice Blonde with you for backup." Archangel ordered.

The former A-01 trooper nodded. "Roger that, sir."

"The rest of you! Tight formation! We're on their territory now." The super soldier loads in a fresh magazine.

"Alright boys and girls! Let's get down there and roast us some pests!" Rex shouted to the crowd.

The Cornerian troopers saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Oni rolled his eyes while speaking in his native language.

"Uh, what did he say?" Serah asked as she didn't understand what the Japanese trooper spoke.

"Don't worry about it." Vixen stated, walking past the Cornerian.

"Okay…" The Cornerian muttered.

While Mech and his team separated from Sigma to carry out their mission, Archangel led the rest of his troopers deeper into the burrows to find their prey.

Down and down they traversed, the troopers of S-09 along with their Cornerian recruits kept a close eye on anything that moved within the tunnels. Darkness encroached upon them, forcing the MI soldiers to activate their helmet lights.

"I'm getting a really bad vibe about this place." Ramirez whispered to Rosie.

The corgi rolled her eyes. "Of course. Let's put all our trust in your gut feeling, Ramirez."

"Jeez, why are you so pissed at me?" The wolf leveled an annoyed glare at Rosie.

As the two Cornerians bickered among themselves, Leatherneck was nearby glancing around the tunnel silently. He was keeping his eyes open for any sign of Bugs hiding in crevices or tight corners. The Federation learned that the hard way back during the Klendathu Campaign.

Reaper brought out a scanner that he kept on his person. If the Brain Bug was anywhere in the hive then it would still need to move. Suddenly, a ping came across the radar. "Movement." He quickly whispered to his comrades. One of the Cornerians near Leatherneck noticed something off with a large gash on the right side of the tunnel. He slowly moved closer to examine it, unsure what was with it. Instantly the moment a power armored clad hand pulled him away did the sharp foreleg of a bug slash down. It managed to cut into Leatherneck's armor but only as a glancing blow. The MI used his leg to stomp down on the foreleg, crushing it under his foot. He fired two shotgun shells into the crevice afterwards, awarded with the corpse of a warrior bug collapsing near his feet.

Archangel glanced down at the bug's corpse then at Leatherneck. "You alright, corporal?" He inquired. The Corporal simply gave a curt nod before firing one last shell into the twitching Bug corpse. He loaded three new rounds into his shotgun as he walked forward with the Cornerian alongside him, nervous from the near death experience.

Hector tried to calm his fast-beating heart as he glanced at the silent trooper. "Uh, thanks for that." He replied, meekly. The MI simply nodded at him in acknowledgement, allowing the Cornerian to move in front of him again.

The rest of the squad advanced further into the depths of the dark tunnels, each of them eager to put an end to the Arachnid operation near the Cornerian city.

The super soldier stopped before holding up a closed fist to signal his team. All of Sigma halted especially the Cornerian soldiers. "We have company." Archangel whispered, pointing below their feet. Several Cornerians glanced at the dirt they stood on nervously while the MIs aimed their weapons down at the floor.

Trig slowly pulled the lever of her sniper rifle back, loading in a fresh bullet. Silence greeted them, all except for the chittering of bug legs that echoed in the burrow.

"Do you think they heard us?" Serah asked no one in particular.

The snow tiger's answer came in the form of a pair of claws erupting from the ground in an attempt to snag the S-09 troopers and the Cornerian recruits. Oni unsheathed his knife to slash off a claw that managed to snag onto his boot. One Warrior Bug got bold and thought that trying to pull down an MI in power armor would be smart. Daredevil yanked his leg back up, dragging the Warrior bug out of the ground which created a clear view of the swarming tunnel below them. In response, he pulled out a grenade and stuffed it into the eye socket of the bug before kicking it down into the swarm below. The grenade exploded the Warrior apart along with several other bugs around it.

However, the resulting explosion shook the entirety of the foundation. The ceiling began to crumble, the walls crack, and flooring rumbled. The commander quickly relayed his order to his team. "Move!" He shouted as he and his troopers sprinted for their lives from the collapsing tunnel. The unit rushed down the tunnel, dodging various bugs that kept popping out of places. Rex had to avoid a Bug trying to slash his head from above while Vixen leapt over a sudden pitfall created by another. Leatherneck had slung his shotgun to carry both Hector and Rosie under his arms since they were not the fastest of the others. Daredevil kept apologizing over and over as the group ran down the tunnel like it was an Indiana Jones movie.

Eventually, Oni spotted a light at the end of the collapsing tunnel. "Over there!" He exclaimed, gesturing straight ahead.

"Let's move, troopers!" Archangel ordered as Sigma increased their speed, adrenaline pumping in their veins as their lifeline to survive was just within their grasp. However they began to notice more bugs starting to get in front of them in an attempt to trap them inside. Leatherneck decided enough was enough and practically charged ahead of everyone, literally bulldozing through the bugs as if they were bowling pins or paper. His armor took a beating from it but the two Cornerians under his arms were unharmed.

With their path clear, the troopers all dived into the light, landing on their fronts as the tunnel behind them collapsed.

Shaking his head, the super soldier glanced up only for his crimson eyes to widen in utter shock. Right in front of him and his team was the very thing they were hunting: The Brain Bug. The massive insect growled at them while its servants screeched viciously at the troopers, awaiting their leader's command to strike. Instantly several of the S-09 troopers got to their feet, readying their weapons. Leatherneck instantly leapt to his feet with the two Cornerians near him, readying his shotgun for close quarters combat. The others quickly got to their feet as the Bugs circled them.

"Orders, Commander?" Rex inquired, leveling his Morita at the Warriors surrounding them.

Narrowing his eyes, the Commander of S-09 checked his HUD on the status of the rest of Sigma. "Mech, what's your ETA on those explosives?" He whispered into his comlink.

"Two minutes, Commander. The locals are getting a bit antsy though." The African American replied on the radio.

Archangel grimaced. "Would you mind hurrying up? We've caught sight of the target but we're surrounded by hostiles." The super soldier could feel that the Arachnids' many eyes were mainly on him and his team but he was no psychic. While the feelings and attitudes of the entire group were mixed, Leatherneck, on the other hand, had his priorities straight. Several yards away in front of the group was the biggest, ugliest Bug that was known to the Federation and he was going to kill it. He gave a large grin under his helmet as he glared at the Brain Bug. He placed his left pointer finger and middle finger on his visor before turning them to point at the Brain Bug. The Brain Bug screeched at the thoughts going on inside the MI's head, clearly upsetting at the most.

"Crap! I think it's pissed off now!" Hector shouted, aiming his rifle around at the various Warrior bugs.

"Then let's piss it off even more. Sigma, Phalanx formation!" Archangel ordered as the troopers circled each other, half of them on one knee while the other half towered above them. "Fire!"

The team began firing while the Cornerians followed their example. Meanwhile, Leatherneck decided to take out the brains behind the Bug operations himself, charging into the horde of Warrior Bugs between him and the Brain Bug. He blasted the bugs left and right with his shotgun, his armor getting splattered with their blood. At one point, he ran out of ammo for his shotgun but that barely slowed him down. Instead he used the weapon as a club, beating Bugs to death like he was a kid inside a pinata shop. He was grinning at the sight of the dying bugs so much he actually started to shout at the Bugs.

"FUCK YOURSELVES!" He howled through his helmet, using his power armored fist to bash the outer shell of a Warrior Bug's head apart. It literally exploded under the force of the power armor, sending pieces of brain matter all over the place. He quickly sidestepped a slash from another bug's foreleg, grabbing the offending limb. He ripped off the forelimb of the Bug before slamming it into its eye socket. The Warrior Bug stumbled around blindly as the MI charged at the Brain Bug.

"Holy crap! What has your Federation been feeding that guy?" Ramirez asked, blasting away a Warrior bug with an Assault Rifle.

"All the four basic food groups of course." Vixen joked at the wolf before she quickly rolled out of the way from a Warrior's bite, grabbed one of her knives and buried the blade into the nerve stem.

Ratzass roared like a maniac, pelting the Warriors with the Gatling Gun attachment on his Morita. "Yeah! Die, Bugs! Come and get a taste!" He taunted the Arachnids.

Reaper leaped onto a Warrior, holding on tight to its upper jaw as he does so when the bug tried to buck him off. The quiet killer aimed his Morita Mk. 1 straight down and fired, the armor-piercing rounds shedding the exoskeleton as green fluids landed on his armor. The battle raged on inside the cavern but it was close to ending soon.

Leatherneck used his armor to leap over a large group of bugs and aimed his feet towards the Brain Bug. The bug let out a screech of fear as it tried to slowly move out of the way. However, the MI trooper landed on top of its bulging body, earning a violent screeching of pain from it. Leatherneck pulled out a grenade and jumped down in front of the Bug. He grabbed the side of its small face and jammed the grenade deep into its face. He leapt back and grinned as the creature squirmed around in a failed attempt to dislodge the grenade. Instantly the grenade went off, blowing off its face along with setting off an even bigger explosion within its corpse. The brain bug literally exploded its guts and matter all over the cavern, coating Leatherneck in a massive amount of blood. He grinned at this before letting out laughter of victory that echoed on everyone's comms.

The effects were instantaneous, the remaining Warriors all screeched at each other then attacked their own kin. The troopers of S-09 and the Cornerian soldiers that came with them watched as the Arachnids slaughtered one another with their leadership dead.

Archangel radioed all of his remaining forces. "All units, Brain Bug has been terminated. I repeat, Brain Bug has been terminated. Commence with the extermination of the remaining Arachnid forces!" He relayed the order to the soldiers inside and outside of the hive. Leatherneck went over to one of the Bugs he killed and planted his foot on its head. He gripped his shotgun that was embedded into its head and yanked it out. He quickly gave it a little brush down, rubbing off any dirt and blood that was on it. One Warrior Bug that was badly shot up screeched weakly at the trooper who simply kicked its eye socket in as he walked over it.

"Commander, this is Mech, all explosive devices have been set up and are ready to blow." Mech spoke on the comlink.

"Excellent work, trooper. Evacuate out of the hive, we're leaving this place and burying any bug son of a bitch alive." The super soldier replied.

"Roger that, sir." Immediately after that, the African American cut off the radio.

Archangel checked his rifle, finding that he wasting about half his clip. Ejecting the magazine and loading a fresh one in, the young trooper glanced at his team. All of them were still alive, the Cornerians a bit shaken up, but alive nonetheless. However, his eyes landed on Leatherneck. "Corporal, lead the team out of here." He ordered. The trooper nodded his head while the other troopers were a bit set off by this sudden order. Nonetheless they followed their orders as they began to walk down a new tunnel which would hopefully get them out of the dying hive and to the surface.

For ten straight minutes, the squad trudged on, ignoring the screeches of Arachnids that fought each other, seemingly ignorant of the humans and Cornerians that bypassed them. Ahead of them, they came upon the exit where they were greeted with the sight of many cheering Cornerian soldiers and Terran Federation troopers, some of which were exterminating any bugs that tried to leave the hive.

"I see they started the party without us." Rex remarked, placing his Morita onto his back. Leatherneck walked to a nearby unoccupied rock and sat down on it. He pulled a rag out from one of his storage packs and wiped the visor clean of any Bug blood and guts. He simply watched as the others celebrated the victory, giving him some time to think of what to do once they were back on the ship or the base.

Archangel approached the Corporal, who stopped cleaning his armor and looked at him. "I must say, corporal. You've done well to prove yourself to me." He sets down his Morita and retracts his helmet visor. "I've read up on your previous records even your crimes and testimonies. Know this, had I been in your shoes, I'd have done the same damn thing. For now, you've earned your place amongst my unit as long as you follow my orders to the letter. Understood?"

Corporal Walsh nodded his head, simply taking off his helmet. Due to the fact his Power Armor was built for the Federation Marines, it did not have all the special tech that the Mobile Infantry has in their power armor. Thus it sacrificed the special gadgets for better armor and boosters. "Understood, sir. Although I doubt that killing a Brain Bug would make the rest of the unit trust me soon."

"Give them time. Eventually, they will warm up to you." The super soldier patted the Corporal's shoulder then marched off to Mech. He found the former A-01 trooper holding a detonator. "You gonna do it or what?" The commander smirked. With a grin of his own, Mech pressed the detonator then the entire hive rumbled until it collapsed under its own weight.

The mass of troopers all cheered at the sight of the enemy stronghold collapse. Some of them firing their rifles into the air. Many dropships circled the area for a landing zone while medical troopers scoured the battlefield for any of their comrades who survived and those that did not. Corpses, whether charred, torn apart, or broken, had been gathered and placed in body bags or for those unfortunate enough to be left in pieces placed in 'trash bags'. Despite the victory, every soldier's heart had grown heavy after so many of their friends, comrades, brothers, and sisters in arms had all fallen in battle.

Once the landing vessels dropped onto the ground extracting troopers both Terran and Cornerian, the troopers of S-09 boarded their dropship and sat in their respective seats. Raven, Rosie, Ramirez, Serah, and Hector all released uneasy breathes. Today had been their first real battle. They should be glad to be alive but their hearts couldn't take the news that so many soldiers had died. Of the ten thousand Cornerian recruits that joined in the assault along with five thousand Terran Federation troopers, three thousand Cornerians and five hundred Terrans died in the ensuing battle.

This marked the first victory in the war between the Terran-Cornerian Alliance and the Arachnid forces but the veteran warfighters of the previous Bug Wars knew better. For every victory, there must always come a sacrifice to be paid.

* * *

 **Planet Venom [Three Days after Operation: Bird's Prey]**

A recording of the many battles between the Terrans, Cornerians, and Arachnids played on a holoscreen.

A wrinkled simian narrowed his deranged eyes at the images of humans and bugs. Each picture detailing different combat scenarios from the two alien races, both strange yet utterly fascinating.

These mysterious aliens appeared out of nowhere, continuing some age-old war on the planet that banished him to this poisoned wasteland. However, it would seem that these Arachnids were quite strong especially in a swarm.

These 'Terrans' however, they seemed to be similar if not more alien than those that call Venom their home. Their weaponry, their ships, their armor, even their technology seemed primitive but at the same time it was more effective than any war machine the Cornerians or even Venom could produce.

He'll have to keep a close eye on these newcomers but for the time being, he might as well continue to study these creatures as much as he can. After all, Andross wasn't a scientist for nothing.

* * *

 **Planet Cerinia**

A young vixen with blue and white fur meditated within the royal chambers of her family's palace walls. Her growing psychic abilities had finally began to bore fruit.

However, her mind would always drift amongst the stars. Her people had met many a passing traveler that would speak of a new race of star travelers. Ones who came from a great distance in ships the size of continents, men who were clad from head to toe in detailed metal armor that possessed strength greater than any warrior, and fought monsters that could cleave a man in two with one bite.

The vixen listened to these tales and wondered if such a people actually existed. Days she meditated, trying to at least catch a gleam into one of these new star travelers. She had no idea if any of them possessed psychic qualities but she was willing to make that assumption.

Suddenly, she felt a sort of shift in her mind. The vixen focused on the source only to release an audible gasp when images of events she could not place filled her psyche. Most of the images she received in her brain were fuzzy but she could make out two figures. A red fox in strange garbs and a tall being in black-red armor, the most defining feature being the symbols branded on his chest.

Leaving her meditative state, the blue vixen took a writing utensil, a parchment of paper, and dabbled in a bit of ink to write down what she had seen.

With a careful but steady hand, she looked upon her handiwork. The very symbols of the armored figure's body.

 _S-09_

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for this chapter. The first part of the Corneria Arc is done, the next one will come up in due time.**

 **Please review and comment on this chapter but no flames or rude criticisms unless you want to be bug chow.**

 **If you ignore the warning then I'll just either report you or remove your reviews because you type of people are just wasting my time.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


	9. Chapter 7

**What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter of Sigma-09. Last chapter, Sigma receives two new transfers for their squad. War breaks out and the Terran-Cornerian Alliance takes its first major victory against the Arachnids. However, there seem to be some trust issues between the rest of the team and Leatherneck.**

 **Now for the disclaimer: I do not own, except my OCs, Starship Troopers or Star Fox. All rights belong to their respective owners.**

 **Now let's get this party started… BEGIN!**

* * *

 **Starship Troopers: Sigma-09**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** Corneria Campaign: Trust on the Battlefield

* * *

 **May 31, 2305; Terran-occupied Outpost near Corneria City [Troopers of S-09 currently stationed]**

It had been roughly a week since the assault during Operation: Bird's Prey; Cornerian recruits had now been christened as full-fledged soldiers after the battle. However, the bodies of those that perished were sent back to their loved ones; those that were still intact anyways. While some celebrated and mourn, others had to take care of some work, such as power armor maintenance.

Leatherneck wiped his brow of sweat as he worked on scrubbing down his suit of power armor of any remaining Bug blood. Even though it had been a full week since the operation, the former Federation Marine still maintained his armor to make sure that no blood gunks up the suit's joints. He was drilled in suit maintenance thanks to Marine boot camp. After all, a Marine with a busted suit was a dead and worthless Marine.

Unlike the S-09 unit's armor, his was customized a bit differently paintwise. Due to the fact that the Federation Marines were trying to follow the example of their predecessors, the United States Marine Corps, they would often paint their power armor with camouflage patterns. Leatherneck's old unit had used M81 Woodland camouflage with a grey USMC emblem on the chest area. Hence why his armor clashed with the rest of Sigma Zero Nine's armor patterns.

As he scrubbed down his armor, he was unaware of the rest of the unit discussing about him inside the main building.

Trig sat on a wooden chair, her sniper shoulder by her side. "Why would command send this guy to our unit?"

"That's what I wanna know." Oni folded his arms, eyes narrowed as he glanced at Leatherneck from outside the window.

Rex seemed to be the only one who didn't like having the Marine in their squad. "Whatever the reason, I don't trust him. The man nearly killed his own CO and was almost given the death penalty."

"But the question is, why is he so important that Command would place him in Sigma." Reaper remarked, a bottle of water in his hand.

"Well, what's to stop him from turning on Archangel?" Vixen wondered, her tail swishing behind her.

"Probably some sort of deal. Don't know what but I think it's the only thing keeping him on a short leash." Mech replied, his fingers rubbing the short beard on his chin.

"Wait. What did that guy do again?" Daredevil questioned, earning a few stares from the group. "What? I was still in a medbay while the docs were installing a new eye in."

Ratzass grunted as he turned in his chair with a water bottle in hand. "You heard about the riots that happened on Mars several months ago right?"

"Yeah. I remember that. The Federation deployed some Marines there to serve as Peacekeepers and handle riot control." Daredevil replied, shifting in his seat.

"Well, this guy was a Staff Sergeant, serving as a platoon Sergeant for his unit. However his CO made a bunch of questionable calls that got a lot of civilians injured along with a few of his men. For no reason, the platoon Sergeant snaps and literally beats his CO so badly that the man is still in a body cast back on Earth." Ratzass explained, leaning back into his chair.

"And that's why, we're holding this little discussion. Do we really want someone like that in our unit?" Rex asked all the troopers of S-09.

Each of them looked rather apprehensive but could see the logic in what their captain was referring to. Could they really trust a man who would turn on his own commanding officer?

Meanwhile, Archangel, who had been busy filing reports from other squads battling on the planet, had taken into account of the animosity between his troopers and the newcomer, Leatherneck. It wasn't the first time he had seen events such as this but he never had a convicted murderer in his squad. Besides that, he knew the true story to what happened on Mars but only a select few really had that information. The public just had to believe what it needed to believe, such was the nature of politics, refrain from speaking the truth and feed the populace lies.

Back outside, Leatherneck did one more look over with his power armor before smiling in satisfaction of his work. The armor was now so clean it had a shine to it. He got into his armor even though he currently wore a BDU and moved it into its proper storage place. As he walked into the power armor storage area, a lot of people moved aside out of a mixture of fear as well as common sense to not stand in the way of a moving suit of armor.

A few of the bypassers spoke behind the Marine's back.

"Why's that guy here?"

"I heard he was conscripted into S-09."

"Who would let that animal out from his cage?"

"It'd be better if Sigma just sent him back to be hung."

"He already nearly killed one of his COs, what's to stop him from harming one of the Federations' best soldiers?"

"You know that I am not deaf." The Marine commented loud, silencing all talking behind his back. He simply rolled his eyes and finally stopped in front of his armor storage rack. He stepped out of the suit and set it to be powered up. He pulled out a Utility cap from his BDU pocket and placed it on his head as he left the power armor depot.

He began to make his way down to the barracks, noting that many of the personnel avoided him in general. He simply shook the thoughts of the issues aside before entering the building.

The moment he stepped in however, he was met with many glares from the troopers of Sigma. Each of their eyes burning a hole into his head. Instead of mentioning about it or talking to them, Corporal Walsh simply ignored the glares and entered his own room, planning on relieving some stress on a punching bag he had set up.

"I swear if he tries anything in combat..." Rex started off before making a finger gun on his forehead and making a mock gunshot sound. The doors slid open as Archangel appears, his features signifying that he barely got any form of sleep. "Officer on deck!"

The troopers immediately straightened up at their CO, who rolled his eyes at the formality. "At ease, all of you." He replied tired. "I'm far too tired for all this 'officer' bullcrap."

Sigma relaxed while their CO popped his neck. "Damn, if the bugs don't kill me then paperwork surely will."

"Anything to report, sir?" Rex asked.

"Just the usual. On standby until further notice." The super soldier sat down on a recliner, relaxing in the soft leathery confines of the chair. Archangel sat in the chair quietly until he heard something. It sounded like grunts and a ton of thumping coming from Leatherneck's quarters. Inside Corporal Walsh's quarters, the Marine was taking his stress out on the large punching bag that was hanging from the ceiling. His facial expression was stoic but his eyes were filled with pent up anger which he took out on the bag. His fists were covered in athletic tape as he let loose on the bag.

"Someone wanna explain to me what his problem is?" The super soldier questioned, watching the Marine vent his frustrations onto the punching bag.

"Even we have no idea, sir." Rex replied but it didn't stop him from glaring at Leatherneck. The Marine was only wearing his Olive Drab BDU pants, forgoing his shirt and shoes. His muscles were seriously toned as if he had been working out since birth. His fighting style was clearly an MMA style even though he mainly chose to use his fists.

His recent fatigue forgotten, the super soldier stood up on his own two feet and marched over to Leatherneck. "Corporal, I have a request for you." He called out to the Marine. The Marine gave the bag one final punch before turning to the CO.

"Yes sir?" He responded, standing at a relaxed stance.

"I want to spar with you." Archangel answered. The resulting shock from the other troopers of Sigma had the desired effect. "Will you accept?"

Leatherneck thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline it."

"I'm not asking for your permission." Archangel countered. "This is an order."

"Then charge me for insubordination. Though I doubt General Rico would be pleased about having his time wasted reviewing over a court martial involving a refusal to a spar when we are at war with the Bugs. Nor would it make your resume look any better since you wasted time and effort trying to court martial a grunt." The Corporal pointed out, hoping to drive his point in and avoid an unnecessary incident.

"I find that the best stress reliever is a good old fashion fight. Wouldn't you agree?" Archangel pointed out. The Corporal sighed at this, realizing that Archangel was not going to stop bothering him about it. He turned the the CO and nodded his head.

"Fine. I will spar with you. However if I win, I would prefer not to spar with you again. Not that there is anything wrong with you, just my own personal choice." Leatherneck replied, giving Archangel his answer.

Nodding in acceptance, the commander led the corporal to the gym, the rest of Sigma following close behind. Once inside, the super soldier stepped into a sparring ring then faced his opponent. "First to fall unconscious or give up loses. Is that okay with you?" Archangel asked the Marine. The Corporal nodded his head, going into silence since he was going to fight. He adopted a relaxed stance with his arms up to his chest level but distanced from it. It was as if he was going to throw the fight or so it seemed.

The commander entered his own stance, feet spread apart with his right hand by his waist while his left fist was out in front of him.

Ice Blonde, nominated as the official referee glanced at both fighters. "Fighters, ready?" She raised her right hand, both troopers tensing their muscles. "Fight!" The signal came down when the woman brought her hand down as well. Instantly Leatherneck let Archangel go on the offensive, simply blocking or dodging the attacks the super soldier threw at him. During this portion, not once did the Marine ever strike back or even hit his own CO. Instead, he stayed on the defensive, remaining calm and controlled.

Archangel found this side of the corporal to be quite strange. This wasn't at all the same soldier he witnessed butcher practically every bug in his path during Operation: Bird's Prey. Was he trying to force him to exhaust himself or is he refusing to fight? Regardless, he chose to spar and that's what he needed. The super soldier lashed out with a roundhouse kick from his right foot at the Marine's ribs. The roundhouse was met by Leatherneck's left arm, causing the super soldier to stagger in an attempt to regain his balance. The Marine could have easily used this opportunity to strike him but instead he simply stayed at the ready for another attack. The others were just confused by the lack of hitting coming from the Marine. They expected him to be violent in a spar but instead was confronted by this event.

"Why don't you hit me?" Archangel questioned, his stance unbreakable. "It's not necessarily a spar if I'm the only one attacking. Come on, have you lost the will to fight?" This actually got an answer from Corporal Walsh.

"Well you are ugly, but not enough to be mistaken for a Bug." He replied before going back to his silent combat stance.

The commander blinked in surprise then smirked. "Did you just crack a joke?"

Leatherneck nodded to this, still keeping up his stance. Despite the fact he could easily strike back at the super soldier, he refrained himself from doing so.

"Well, I don't know exactly why you're suddenly so angry but it's starting to annoy me." Archangel lunged at the Marine, throwing a fast right hook that Leatherneck easily avoid only to realize too late that it was a feint. A sharp jab in his abdomen from the commander's knee had surprised him. A pair of hands latched onto his shoulders as the super soldier leaped into the air and used both feet to kick the Marine directly in the chest.

The Marine fell onto his back, slightly dazed for a moment. He shook himself off and got back to his feet, blocking another set of attacks from Archangel. The kick to his chest stung but he ignored and tried to keep his calm.

The super soldier stood there, waiting for the Marine. "I'm really starting to doubt why someone like you is part of my squad if you don't even have the guts to fight me man to man."

"Do you really want to fight me, sir?" Leatherneck questioned, looking at the super soldier across from him. "Sir. I prefer to fight against Bugs or any other aliens but I am not fond of harming a fellow man unless he deserved it. So are you sure you want me to go full out here?"

"I need to evaluate my troopers. In order to do that, I need to test their strength and skill with my own two hands. Now come at me!" Archangel ordered.

At this, Corporal Walsh changed his stance instantly from defense to full out assault. Automatically he and Archangel exchange roles with the CO barely blocking his attacks. Leatherneck was attacking with kicks and punches of an MMA fighter, not slowing down once or letting up. In fact the fighting style was so different than any other style used by the Federation, it caused Daredevil to think for a moment.

"Something seems familiar with Leatherneck. I know his name is Flynn but why do I have the feeling I have seen him before?" He commented to the others as they watched Archangel actually get a run for his money from the least trusted trooper around.

He moved his head to avoid another punch then lashed out with a punch of his own, aiming it directly at the Marine's nose. The Marine caught the fist thrown at his nose before landing a haymaker on the side of Archangel's face. The only way to describe the hit was that it felt like he had been hit by a gorilla in a suit of power armor maxed out completely on the force.

"Holy shit!" Rex commented, taken back by the fact that the punch managed to land the team's CO on his ass.

Shaking his head, Archangel placed a finger on his lip, a tinge of red liquid appearing on the skin. "Hmm, not bad." He complimented the Marine then stood up despite the pain in his cheek. "I'm actually impressed you made me bleed a little." He spat out the blood and grinned dangerously at Leatherneck.

"I aim to please." Leatherneck replied, pulling the CO back to his feet quickly. He let go of him and moved back into his stance, just in case he decided to attack him.

The commander of S-09 popped his neck, adrenaline running in his veins as he entered his stance once more. "You've got me interested, corporal. Let's go! The real fight starts now."

The two troopers kept up the sparring, increasing the intensity of the room. While Archangel is classified as a super soldier with a higher tolerance to pain and increased strength, Corporal Walsh had a better grip of Mixed Martial Arts along with high endurance and strength. Also it was easy to tell that he uses MMA against human opponents only since the entire unit witnessed him charge down a crowd of bugs like a linebacker and tear off bug limbs like a gorilla.

Leatherneck feinted a left hook which Archangel moved to block. However the super soldier was greeted with a kick to the side followed by a right hook to his chin. This sent him staggering back along with the realization that maybe he should have taken a martial arts class sometime before meeting the Marine.

However, what Archangel lacked in utter skill, he made up for it with his unwavering will to survive and adapt. Using the stagger, the super soldier pushed in his step and football tackled Leatherneck to the ground, wrapping his legs around the Marine's throat while taking a firm hold of his right arm in a grapple lock.

Leatherneck struggled to pull the man off of his throat, slowly putting all of his efforts into it. However the grip was strong and starting to make his breath shortened. He was close to giving up until he remembered why he fought in the first place.

* * *

 **13 Years Ago**

* * *

 **St. Louis, Missouri**

 _A young seven year old boy struggled to get out of a headlock as a schoolyard bully held him down. The bully had been picking on some nerdy boy when Flynn demanded that he leave him alone. However, normally Flynn tend to avoid trouble but for some reason beyond his grasp, he felt compelled to stand up against the bully. Which was the reason why he was in a headlock._

" _Come on, Flick! Give up already!" The bully taunted, tightening the grip around the kid's neck. The young Flynn Walsh simply refused to do so, slowly moving around the headlock. He managed to broke free and turned around, suckerpunching the bully in the face. The punch literally knocked several of the kid's baby teeth out as Flynn, covered in bruises and a black eye, glared at the bully._

" _I swear if I ever catch you picking on anyone again, I will beat you up, Mitch!" The boy warned, feeling satisfied for the first time that he had a use for his crazy strength._

* * *

 **Back to the present...**

With that reminder, Leatherneck swung his head back into Archangel's groin region, causing the super soldier to get winded and let go. Instantly, the Marine shot to his feet and landed a final hit to the CO in the form of a punch to the face after he had gotten back to his feet. The crunching of a broken nose was heard all across the room as the super soldier landed on his back, blood running down from his nose.

Silence greeted the open air. No one spoke or breathed a single word. They had all witnessed one of the Federation's greatest soldiers beaten by a Marine. A super soldier had lost to a regular human.

"No way…" Oni rubbed his eyes to make sure he was dreaming.

"The commander lost? He's never lost a spar." Rain frowned.

Ratzass passed a credit chit over to Mech, who was pumping his fist in joy.

Trig and Rex marched over to Archangel, carefully helping the young man back to his feet while Ice Blonde signaled the end of the match. "Match goes to Leatherneck." She announced.

Leatherneck glanced around to gauge the various reactions before removing the athletic tape from his hands. He silently went over to his quarters and gave the CO a salute before stepping inside, closing the door behind him. It was best to avoid the others for now after what they had just witnessed.

"Okay. I would be very impressed if someone did some tests and found out he wasn't on steroids." Daredevil commented, shocked by how a super soldier got his ass handed to him by a Marine.

* * *

 **Great Fox [High above Corneria's atmosphere]**

Fox McCloud was not having a good day.

Not only were extraterrestrial insects invading his home planet but now it seems they're spreading around the entire Lylat System. Reports were coming in that many other planets were being invaded by the Arachnids. Assistance from the Terran Federation was greatly appreciated but most of their forces were focused on Corneria since it was better to drive the bugs off a highly populated world first then engage them in skirmishes on the other worlds.

Releasing a sigh, the vulpine failed to realize that his long-time friend, Falco Lombardi had arrived on the bridge. "Yo, Fox, we've got a call from General Pepper." The blue-feathered avian shouted.

The leader of Star Fox's ears twitched in irritation at the sound from Falco's loud voice. "Okay, okay, just tone down the yelling, will you?" He sent a small glare at the avian until the doors to the bridge slid open to reveal Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare.

"We're not late, are we?" The old grey hare questioned.

Fox shook his head, giving his secondary father figure a playful grin. "No, we were waiting for you to finally show up. You must be getting slow for your age, Peppy." He joked.

"Well, when you reach my age, you'll be on the receiving end of those little jokes of yours, pup." Peppy retorted.

The vulpine brought his paws up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. My bad, Peppy." He stood up straight and glanced at the Great Fox's robotic assistant. "R.O.B, is General Pepper's transmission coming through?"

"Affirmative." The yellow-white robot answered.

"Good, bring him online." The mercenary replied, standing at the forefront of his team.

Typing a few commands on the computer, R.O.B brought the holo-terminal online. In a few seconds, the high ranking officer of the Cornerian Military appeared. "Greetings, Star Fox. I trust you know why I am calling?"

"Is it about a job, General?" Fox asked, almost expecting the bloodhound to hire the mercs.

"Quite so, Fox. The council has just issued an evacuation at the tourist town called Paradise Port." Pepper replied, his expression grave. "Arachnid forces are burrowing underground. From what we can tell, they will reach the town in less than two hours. Not enough time to evacuate thousands of citizens."

"So what do you want us to do?" The vulpine questioned. Despite their reputation, even they couldn't handle that many bugs.

Pepper rubbed his chin. "I've petitioned a request to General Rico of the Terran Federation to assist in the evacuation. However, the only available unit he could spare were the troopers of S-09 led by Commander Archangel."

"So you want us to work with S-09 in handling the evacuation along with fighting off the Bugs." Fox summed up the idea clearly, earning a nod from Pepper.

"Exactly. Link up with Sigma-09 once they are deployed in the area. Understood, McCloud?"

"Not a problem. I'll contact him now to get the coordinates of the rendezvous point." Fox replied, setting up a communications line with Archangel.

"This is a restricted communication line, identify yourself." A rough male voice spoke on the comlink.

"I'm Fox McCloud. General Pepper said that my group is going to be assisting Sigma Zero Nine of the Terran Federation force deployed on Corneria. Figured I give a heads up to you guys and ask where you would like us to meet up." Fox replied, watching as the comlink video feed turned on. On the screen was Archangel sporting a few bruises and a bandaged nose. "Yesh. What happened to you?"

"Little bit of sparring, nothing bad." The super soldier grinned as if he wasn't beaten to a near pulp. "The doctors were quite insistent on me having bandages despite the fact I heal faster than them." He joked.

"Looks more like you got into a fight with a gorilla. Anyway, I assume you guys got a heads up as well. From what it sounded like from General Pepper, we are in for some serious fighting." Fox replied. "We can provide you air support with our Arwings or assist you guys on the ground."

The super soldier brought a finger up to his lips, wondering how to plan until he snapped them. "Actually, I think your team would be more suitable in the air but Fox, I need you on the ground to assist with the evacuation. I'm splitting my troopers up into three teams. I will be leading Team One. Rex will lead Team Two. You will have to assist Team Three." Archangel pressed something on his side of the communication line. "Team One will act as the first line of defense should the bugs penetrate into the city. Team Two will be our hit-and-run attack squad, striking the Arachnid forces from their flanks. Team Three is to be the second and last line of defense should the bugs get past us. I'm trusting you to help my team, Fox. I care a great deal about them so make sure that you and them don't die."

"Alright. One final question. Who is Team Three's leader then?" Fox questioned, interested in who he was going to be working with during the evacuation.

"A rather interesting trooper, Corporal Walsh also known as Leatherneck. He's earned my respect and for that, I'm trusting him to lead Team Three." Archangel replied. "But be warned, he's not really the most social amongst my squad and the rest of Sigma seems to hate his guts."

"Understood. I will make contact with Team Three as soon as possible." Fox replied before ending the transmission. The entire mercenary group was put into alert as they began to gear up for the battle.

* * *

 **Two Hours Later; Paradise Port [Joint-evac Operation between mercenary team, Star Fox and Terran Federation troopers of Sigma Zero Nine]**

Archangel stood upon the ramparts that gave him and his team a clear view of the city, most of it deserted with a few Cornerian civilians carrying their belongings to the LZ where dropships were prepared to evacuate them out of the city.

His team consisted of Reaper, Oni, Trig, and Ratzass. Rex's team were comprised of their fastest runners: Vixen, Daredevil, Rain, and Ghost. Leatherneck's team, besides the addition of having Fox among them, were Mech, Ice Blonde, and Ripper. Providing air support were three Arwings piloted by Fox's teammates: Falco, Slippy, and Peppy.

Leatherneck kept his eyes peeled from his team's location, using the old fashion binocular optics device since his armor didn't have a zoom in function like the MI armor. Fox was standing a few feet away from him, glancing at the three MIs in the team. Archangel was not kidding about the hate towards the former Federation Marine. All three of the subordinates under Corporal Walsh's command glared daggers at their team leader.

"Alright, everyone. Look sharp, it may not seem like it but those bugs are out there. Corporal, how's the evacuation going?" Archangel radioed from his position.

"Evacuations are going smoothly for now, sir. We have to hold off the Bugs for about thirty minutes to an hour at the most. So I have my team hunkered down in some of the abandon buildings for cover." The Corporal replied on his comms, lowering the optics from his helmet visor. He placed them in a storage panel on his suit's utility belt before pulling out his shotgun. He turned to the others and began giving orders. "Ice Blonde. Use the second floor window to provide overwatch for now. Mech. Get some charges set up around the area. Blow them only once the first and second fireteams have fallen back to our position. I don't want any unnecessary casualties because you jerked the det cord early. Ripper. You cover him as well before setting up on the first floor with McCloud and I."

"Sure thing, Corporal." Ripper replied with venom in his voice at the mention of the rank. Ice Blonde said nothing but went up to the second floor. Mech rushed outside with Ripper right behind him.

Fox soldered up to the Marine, his blaster rifle in his hands. "Geez, what crawled up their butts?" He half-asked, half-joked.

"They don't trust me that's why. Nor would I trust them." Leatherneck admitted, not bothering to look at the Cornerian. "They only think about the stuff they heard that involved me. And I don't trust anyone that I barely know to be honest except for those I have served alongside with most of my time in the Federation."

"But you're all teammates, why don't you trust each other?" Fox questioned, his ears twitching in curiousity. "I mean, you guys are part of the same unit."

"I was transferred here a week ago. My old unit was close knit for being together for two years. Well except for the CO." He answered, slinging his shotgun on his back. "That and I wasn't transferred here for good behavior."

The vulpine raised a brow. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Go ask one of these geniuses first before you ask for my side of the story." The Corporal replied before remaining silent for the rest of the time.

"Jeez, suit yourself." Fox stepped away from the Marine, deciding to check on how the evacuees were handling the current situation. Once he arrived, he noticed a few of his fellow Cornerians were already boarding a dropship however when Fox stepped forward to take a closer look, his foot stepped on something that squeaked. Turning his gaze to the ground, he noticed that it was a small bunny doll in a short pink dress with a small plastic flower stitched onto the head near the left ear. He reached down to pick it up then noticed a little Cornerian kitten with white fur and black stripes who nervously looked at him. Smiling, the vulpine held the doll out to her. "Is this yours?" He asked gently. Seeing her nod, he beckoned her over which she did then handed the toy over to her. "Take good care of your little friend here. Don't want her to get left behind and snatched up by yucky bugs." He joked.

The child giggled at Fox's funny attitude until her ears heard footsteps behind her. The kitten and Fox noticed that it was a female Cornerian tabby cat with orange and white fur. She seemed to be dressed as an accountant. "Delilah, come along sweetie, we have to go." She spoke to her daughter.

"Okay, mama." The little girl, Delilah replied. She looked up at Fox and gave him a small hug. "Thank you for finding my doll, Mister." The mercenary smiled down at her, patting her furry head then ushered off. The kitten returned to her mother, taking her paw with her tiny one.

"Sweet kid…" Fox kept his smile up but internally he sort of felt jealous ever since his father, James McCloud, had been taken from him. He didn't show it but he would cry to himself whenever he was alone in his room, he missed his father greatly.

Just then, Mech and Ripper rushed back into the building and set up their own positions. "Alright. Charges are set. We are ready to go."

Leatherneck nodded at this before turning to Fox. "If you have any deity you worship, might as well say a prayer to them before the Bugs attack. You never know when your time is up."

Fox rolled his eyes. It's like these guys have never even heard of taking a good vacation but then again they were in a war against giant insectoid aliens. Besides that, he'd never been much of a religious man but it never hurt to have a little faith in a higher power to see oneself through a dangerous situation. Regardless, the vulpine quickly took his position with the rest of Team Three, his grip on his blaster rifle clenched and unclenched nervously.

"Alright, you lugheads! If you are engaging bugs, use short controlled bursts on their center of mass near their eye! So no commando weapon firing I see you MIs do all the time!" Corporal Walsh shouted through his comms, taking his Morita off his back. Despite having a few people out rank him in S-09, being a former Platoon Sergeant had prepared Leatherneck to be a leader in a combat situation. And he would be damned if he couldn't get these MIs out of this battle alive.

The three troopers under Leatherneck's command glared harshly at him from behind their helmet masks. From the way he spoke, it completely disrespected the Mobile Infantry. He was treating them like privates fresh out of boot camp.

Ripper growled under his breath in his native language. Mech felt tempted to punch the corporal right in the jaw. Ice Blonde started to feel as if her trigger finger had grown itchy from hearing Leatherneck's comment.

Just then, they heard the distant screech of bugs followed by the chatter of the Moritas of the First Team. This was followed by comms between Teams' One and Two via the radio.

"Contacts! All units, lock and load! We have heavy incoming!" Archangel shouted over the comms. Gunfire erupted loudly in the direction of Teams' One and Two. Loud screeches from Warriors echoed in the deserted city. This meant Team Three would be on standby, waiting for the other teams to fall back past the line of explosives. Leatherneck stood at the ready, his eyes shifting around as he took in the area in front of him. The street was clear of most vehicles except for ends of the street. This was done on purpose so the two teams would fall back here, luring the bugs into a killzone with no escape. That and Leatherneck would be damned if any of the Bugs would be smart enough to pass on attempting to tear up several armored MIs like can openers.

Up the front, Team One and Team Two were engaged in a massive firefight with Arachnid forces. Barks from Moritas, screeches from Warriors, and battle cries from troopers roared in the deserted area.

"Reloading!" Oni shouted, ejecting a magazine from his rifle while Ratzass provided coverfire. Rex and his team invoked their hit-and-run attacks, killing their targets one by one then disappearing into the buildings with the bugs being none the wiser.

Trig brought up her sniper rifle, loading a new round into the chamber then fired. The bullet piercing straight into a Warrior's nerve stem as it fell to the ground. Vixen vaults over a piece of rubble, firing her marksman rifle. A Warrior collapsing onto the ground after being pelted with lead.

Reaper primed a grenade then tossed it from over his cover, a brief explosion followed by agonized screeching signaled his kills. Rain used her tomahawks to slice off the limbs of a Warrior then buried the blades in its nerve stem.

Despite the overwhelming odds and the limited manpower, the troopers of S-09 were holding their ground for as long as they could.

However, their luck had run out…

The earth beneath them began to rumble then a new bug hole opened as Warriors spilled out with an additional bug slowly but surely following behind them. Whatever it was, it resembled a Terran Hercules Beetle with long but sharp mandibles and powerful jaws that could tear Marauder armor to shreds.

"The fuck is that thing!?" Ratzass exclaimed in surprise.

Archangel had read up on this type of bug. An anti-infantry bug that hits fast and hard with jaws powerful enough to snap a grown man in half. The eggheads had taken to calling these things 'Jaw Beetles' due to its mandibles.

"Team One and Two, fall back to the second line!" The S-09 team leader ordered.

One by one, the troopers retreated as the bugs advanced with the Jaw Beetle leading the charge. Oni drops incendiaries to slow the enemy down. A wall of fire erupted, burning a few Warriors while the Jaw Beetle roared angrily at its prey.

This gave the squad ample time to retreat to the second line where Team Three waited.

"Covering fire!" Fox called out, firing his blaster at the enemy Arachnids. His action was followed by Ice Blonde, Mech, and Ripper. Leatherneck popped a grenade and slugged it at the incoming Bugs. A large explosion sent carapace and limbs flying.

The troopers of Team One and Two vaulted over the debris and barricades in their way, taking cover while returning fire with their Moritas.

Their position provided a decent choke point to route the enemy into a killzone but the Arachnid numbers were proving to be quite...troublesome.

"Reloading!" Rain called out, ejecting the spent magazine of her rifle then slapping another inside.

Ghost looked over his cover and fired a short burst at an approaching Warrior. Armor-piercing bullets driving home into the nerve stem as the bug collapsed dead.

"Last mag!" Ratzass exclaimed, slapping in his magazine.

"Make them count, Ratzass!" Archangel tossed an ammo clip to the trooper.

Trig pulled up from her cover and fired her Triple X sniper rifle; penetrating a Warrior's nerve stem.

Reaper took his last grenade then primed it. "Frag out!" He tossed it overhead. The explosive landed beneath a troop of Warriors then exploded in a fiery blaze.

"Mech! Blow the charges!" Ripper shouted at the African American.

"Copy that!" Mech replied, reaching into his armor's storage compartment and brought out a detonator.

"You did make sure they were set up in the areas that were designated correct?" Leatherneck questioned.

"Fuck off, you disrespectful bastard!" Ice Blonde shoved the ex-marine back. "We don't take orders from some asshole who likes to piss on the good name of the Mobile Infantry!"

"Save the bullshit later! Fight now!" Rex yelled before grunting in pain when a ball of plasma struck his shoulder. "Fuck!"

"Drop your fucking grudges now and cover your fellow soldiers! We are in combat now so shut up and focus!" Leatherneck shouted back, rushing over towards Rex. He fired his Morita into the faces of various Bugs as he made his way towards the captain. He dropped his Morita, the rifle swinging back around his torso due to his sling. He pulled out his favored shotgun and unleashed fury on the Bugs. The blast of the shotgun at nearly point blank practically splitted a Warrior Bug in half, sending the green blood all over the place. He slammed a boot into the forelimb of another earning a screech of pain from it. He kept running towards the captain, grimly noting that the Jaw Beetle had noticed the hit MI.

Before it reached them however, a black-red blur shot past them faster than they could blink. Grabbing the mandibles with his bare hands was the leader of S-09, Archangel. His grip on the insectoid tightened as the trooper-killing bug started to groan in protest. With a flick of his wrists, Archangel removed the sharp mandibles with herculean strength, earning the super soldier a roaring screech filled with agony. He raised the shattered jaw/mandibles over his head then jammed them both deep into the Jaw Beetle's ugly black eyes.

"Show off." Leatherneck muttered under his helmet as he pulled Rex up to his feet. He slammed a fist into the eye socket of a Bug before kicking back towards the other charging Bugs with his power armored foot. He carried Rex over towards the others, often firing his shotgun once or twice while mainly using his left fist to deal with any incoming Bugs. He reached over towards the others and set down Rex against a wall carefully.

"One of you treat him now. I'm going to stall these overgrown insects." He replied, rushing back out while reloading his emptied shotgun.

"Belay that order, corporal." Archangel stated over the com. "You and the rest fall back a safe distance. Get to the evac ships if you have to but do not let one of those bugs get even close to a civie. You will not turn back to stall. Am I clear?" The sound of a brief explosion was heard followed by a cloud of smoke that engulfed several Arachnid soldiers in a fiery inferno. "When I give you the signal to blow those charges, do it."

Leatherneck grimaced for a moment at the order before turning to the others. He quickly killed his comms connection between him and Archangel when he started to speak. "All of you. Fall back to the next rally point and make sure the remaining civilians are safely loaded up on the transport ships. Make sure to cover each other along the way. Archangel's orders."

"Oh yeah? And what about you?" Trig demanded, failing to see the grin under the former Marine's helmet.

"I will be giving Archangel a hand. Now go." He ordered firmly, causing the unit to look at each other in concern. They didn't trust him alone to be with their leader but at the same time, they did hear the orders of the CO. Nonetheless, they began moving back, Mech and Daredevil carrying Rex with them as they left Leatherneck alone in the ruins. Leatherneck gave a grin before turning back on his connection between him and Archangel. He double checked his ammo, having secretly taken a few extra mags and shells from one of the transport ships that dropped them off. He rushed towards the sounds of fighting, speaking into his comms again. "Sir. All but two of the team have fallen back to the next rally point."

Leatherneck got closer towards the fighting and began to run up along the wall of cars towards the horde that Archangel was fighting. He seemed to be handling himself fine but Leatherneck's training and NCO experience told him to ignore the order of falling back.

"Wait. Two? Then who is the second-" Archangel was cut off as two Warrior Bugs on his left were crushed under the weight of the Marine-issued Power Armor. A shotgun blast cut off their screeching as Leatherneck quickly finished them. "Of course it was going to be you." He sighed. "Why must all my subordinates disobey me even after I allowed them to win a simple sparring match."

"Sir. With all due respect, in Marine terms, you are an idiot." Leatherneck replied, blasting away another group of Warrior Bugs. "With all Marines, it's simple. Never. Fight. Alone." He pumped in a new shell and continued assisting the CO.

"Well, at least you marines learn when teamwork is the best option. Seems letting you blow off steam has started to open your heart a little." Archangel smirked under his helmet, loading in a grenade for his underslung launcher then fired it directly into nerve stem of a Warrior; in a few seconds, it exploded into a mess of gore. "In that case, Corporal. Shall we give these ugly bastards the hell that Sigma brings?"

"Ladies first." Leatherneck replied, kicking back a Bug several feet with his power armor.

"Well, by all means, go ahead." The super soldier teased, flipping over the jaws of another Warrior, unsheathing his builtin arm blades and stabbing them straight down. Leatherneck slammed his left fist into the leg of an incoming Tiger Bug before blasting its brains out with the shotgun in his right hand. He pumped in a new shell before firing a blast into another Bug. He quickly slung his shotgun and pulled out his Morita. He used the more concentrated line of fire to successfully hit a Bug that was coming up on Archangel's left. However, this diverted his attention in which a Warrior Bug managed to sideswipe at the Marine, sending him flying into the glass window of a hardware store. Several Bugs went after him, leaving Archangel alone with the ever increasing horde of Bugs.

A bloodthirsty grin appeared beneath the super soldier's mask as he launched himself at the first Tiger Bug, jamming his left arm blade right into the nerve stem then took a grenade, primed it, and stuffed it inside as Archangel kicked it back into several other Arachnids to watch as they exploded in a fiery blaze. He brought out his Morita and rained bullets down on two Warriors that had gotten close, rendering them bullet ridden corpses. He loaded another grenade into his launcher and fired it right into a crowd of Bugs, destroying them in bits and pieces of gore and limbs. The camera lens eyes of his helmet glowed menacingly amongst the crowd of alien insects.

Inside the hardware store, the Bugs began to look around for their prey after finding the Marine's spot of impact empty. The four Warrior Bugs spread out, unaware of the Marine was turning the tables. One Warrior bug looked down an aisle for him, failing to hear the Marine pick up an industrial chainsaw behind it. The roar of the chainsaw followed by the dying screeches of the Bug filled the entire store as the three other Bugs converged on the noise. They were greeted by a green blood covered Marine holding a chainsaw in his hands and with a grin under his helmet. "So… Who wants to be next?"

Outside, the Angel of Death was slaughtering the Arachnid forces with his arm blades. Each pain-filled screech, each roar of agony, and every spray of green blood was music to the super soldier with Archangel as the conductor. This was his symphony of insectoid death and nothing was stopping him except…

"Corporal, it's time to make ourselves scarce and retreat. We've drawn enough of them out." The red-eyed trooper stated over the comms. He cuts open another Warrior's nerve stem, killing the creature in an instant.

The only thing he could hear was the sounds of a chainsaw and obscenities being shouted by the Corporal towards the Bugs. Inside the store, the walls and shelves were being painted with a viscera of Bug blood and limbs via the chainsaw in Leatherneck's hands. The chainsaw ripped the forelimbs off a rather ballsy Warrior Bug before cutting through its head in half. The Marine turned to the last remaining Warrior Bug who decided to charge at him head on. The Marine, using his power armor's strength, threw the chainsaw at the Bug's head, sending it down to the ground. He rushed over and crushed its legs with a few stomps to prevent it from fleeing. He pulled out his shotgun and aimed it at the area where the Bug's eye is located.

Rolling his eyes, Archangel dived into the convenience store. "Corporal, that's enough fun for now. We are leaving."

After Leatherneck finished blasting a hole into a Warrior, he nods at his commanding officer and followed after him.

Archangel and Leatherneck sprinted as fast as their legs could carry them; the Bugs scrambling right on their heels. Two Arwings piloted by Falco and Slippy rained down a laser bombardment to lessen the strain on the troopers.

They passed ruins and broken down hover cars until finally they reached the landing platform where the remainder of S-09 and the civilians stood in place.

"Mech, blow the charges NOW!" Archangel yelled.

"With pleasure, sir!" The African American trooper smirked, pressing the detonator, sending a massive explosion that sent both the commander and the ex-marine flying from the shockwave. A chorus of screeching Bugs filled the air as the Arachnid army began to die.

Archangel and Leatherneck sat up, watching the flames erupt from the ruins of the once prosperous city.

"Shame to see such a nice looking city have to be destroyed. That's going to be a bitch having to rebuild and probably expensive as hell." The Marine stated.

"I agree. However, at least none of the civilians died on our watch so I call it a success either way. Also if you disrespect the Mobile Infantry again, I won't go easy on you the next time we spar." The supersoldier stated.

A brief chuckle left the man's mouth. "You actually thought I meant what I said? Half of that crap I was telling was to motivate them to prove me wrong. I don't remember what the term for it is but at Marine Basic, the DIs were always putting us down to make us more motivated to prove them wrong. That's what I was doing."

"Well, try and do a better job. You'll make less enemies that way." Archangel pointed out.

Leatherneck pulled off his helmet for a moment, allowing him to take in some fresh air. He pulled a canteen his suit's utility belt and drank some water from it. He removed it from his lips, swallowing the water in his mouth before he continued speaking. "With all due respect, sir. If that spar is what you called going easy on me, then a real fight would be interesting to have since my fighting against you was half-assed."

"Really now? Had I used the real thing, you probably wouldn't be here. You'd be in a hospital bed in a full body cast." The black-haired trooper smirked. "So… Has Sigma been fine so far despite the distrust?"

"I guess. I mean it ain't the Corps but then again, Marines make do so I can handle it." Leatherneck replied, taking another sip from his canteen. "Besides, I think Rex might be a little bit nicer since I actually ran into the swarm to pull him out of danger so that's a positive to me. Give it a few more weeks and the entire squad will get used to me."

The two troopers sat in silence, watching the flames of the burning city fill the setting sky. Fox, Rex, Trig, and the rest of Sigma approached the two, joining them in gazing at the flames while the civilian transports left the landing pad.

"How long?" Fox asked, earning a few looks from the Terrans. "How long before we drive these things from our home?"

"No idea. The Bugs tend to be rather tedious." Rex added.

"Still, not gonna stop us from kicking their asses back to their skank ass queen's grave." Ratzass stated with a grin.

"Amen to that, brother." Mech nodded.

The sound of the vernier engines from a Terran Federation landing ship approached the troopers and the mercenary. The Arwings flying by it to keep watch for any remaining enemy forces. Once it landed, the ramps opened to allow the troopers to enter inside.

" _Commander's Log: 0568; After successfully repelling the Arachnid forces and giving the Cornerian civilians a chance to evacuate, Sigma Zero Nine has been brought back to homebase to recuperate."_

Once all of the occupants got onboard, the landing ship slowly began to rise into the air.

" _But this battle would not be the last. More people will be driven from their homes and civil unrest will bring forth disaster later in society. However, there is hope…"_

The Terran ship took off over the sea toward the setting sun, leaving the burning ruins of a city once known to many Cornerians as Paradise.

" _The Terran-Cornerian Alliance will not give up until the Bugs were wiped out from the Lylat System."_

However, watching the entirety of the defense, a small drone with an alien symbol was placed on the small machine.

" _This concludes the rest of my report. End log."_

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for this chapter. The second part of the Corneria Arc is done, the next one will come up in due time. Next we introduce the Marauder Mk. IIIs.**

 **Please review and comment on this chapter but no flames or rude criticisms unless you want to be reported.**

 **If you ignore the warning then it's your own fault.**

 **A special thanks to all my readers and followers. You are my inspiration for writing. I hope you all continue to inspire me more and more.**

 **Peace out, everyone!**


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